House of Horrors
by Dirty Blondes
Summary: Barbas needs to kill some scientists who are discovering the existence of demons, so he traps thems in their building to kill them along with Chris and Paige. What horrors await them? sorry for the delay with updating enjoy
1. Tick Tock Scientists the fun has begun

**Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed**

**Plan: Paige and possibly someone else get stuck in a building which Barbas is in control of. I don't know how bad the horror factor will get but it is going to be scary. I hope. Let me know what you think. :P**

**This is set near the end of season 6, Paige still has her temp job, and everyone is aware of Chris' identity.**

"Oh yeah and did I mention Craig?" Paige asked her snoozing sister.

Piper snapped awake, "Yes Paige, Craig is great!" She said leaning her head back on the kitchen bench.

"I just can't believe I'm his assistant and I get to work in such a magic free zone!" Paige clasped her hands together gleefully.

"Paige, they research science there." Piper pointed out for no reason at all.

"Finally, the temping agency didn't screw up!" Paige sighed.

"I'm guessing Craig is one of the reasons?" Piper asked her head still on the kitchen bench. This was extremely frustrating, all she wanted to do was make a stew for her sisters, then of course Paige danced in and started going on about her stupid temp job, again!

"He's so dreamy!" Paige sighed.

"Okay Barbas, we are listening." The Head announced. Barbas the demon of fear stood before of a council of demons. It was time for him to make his pitch.

"Thank you sir, I would like to propose to eliminate the threat… those scientist people discovering and spreading the truth about us demons."

"I'm aware that Ex Libris and the Cleaners will take care of it more able-y" A gremlock pointed out.

"Ah, yes but this! This is on a grander scale, I could work my magic and have most of them dead in a week. No need for anyone to know of our existence. Of course I respect the Cleaners and Ex Libris' abilities, they only go for the small time heists. I'm here to give them a helping hand!"

"This wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that one of the Charmed ones is currently working there?" A Harpy demon asked venomously.

"Ah… that completely slipped my mind… but if you want that threat to be eliminated too, it would be my pleasure!" Barbas bowed before the council.

"What is your initial plan?" The Head listening attentively.

"I plan to trap the mortals all in the building they have come to love, release their fears in such confined situations, they will do the work for me!"

"You plan to make them go insane and kill each other?" The Gremlock scoffed.

"Yes, each other. And them selves."

"All in favour?" The Head asked.

Several demons rose their hands, the Harpy did not.

"It is done, you have one week, if we are not satisfied with your results, we will take care of the building our selves and you!" The council shimmered away leaving Barbas alone cackling to himself.

"Perfect!" He smiled malevolently rubbing his hands together then shimmering away.

"Piper come back! I haven't told you more about Craig!" Paige ran after her older sister as she stormed out of the kitchen her hands clamped over her ears.

"Trust me the less I know about him the better!" She said loudly still walking away and heading for the stairs.

"Fine!" Paige sulked, "Oh my god I'm late for work!" Piper turned and watched her sister orb away.

"Cars!" She shouted, "People use cars!" To absolutely no one in particular.

Phoebe Haliwell sat at her desk at the Bay Mirror studying a letter she had just received.

_Dear Phoebe_

_I have been working as the photocopy girl in the white building downtown for 5 years and this guy I really like has never once looked at me! How I do I get him to notice me? Am I aiming too high? Should I pledge my heart to someone more worthy?_

_Photocopy girl_

Some of these people should try living the life she lead, every love she had had since becoming a witch had been much more complicated than that. She noticed the note had said, _"The big white building downtown" _That was the science building Paige was temping at. She wondered if she could help her. Anyway if she had worked they for five years she should at least know the name of the building, Paige had called it something weird like Sine Labe or something. She said it was Latin for without stain. According to Paige everything in there was white and pristine. Phoebe could imagine it now, she actually felt sorry for Photocopy girl, she wouldn't want to work in a building that could blind you. Especially 5 floors of white blinding rooms.

She stared at the letter and tried to feel Photocopy girl in the letter, without her empathy power though she was finding it slightly difficult. She looked at her computer screen saw she had a new message, it was from Paige at work. Phoebe clicked to open it.

_Hey Phoebs what it your greatest fear?_

_Paige xxx_

Wow Paige was in a good mood, she normally never made contact with anyone on her temp jobs if she could help it, well let's see… Phoebe knew losing a sister was her greatest fear, her boyfriend being evil another. Hmm what could she put that Paige would be able to show her new friends. Craig for one, Paige had developed a slight crush on her charge who she was assisting.

_Fire_

She typed and sent it then returned to photocopy girls letter. She wasn't terrified of it, it was just unnerving to her. When dealing with flame throwing demons on a daily basis she supposed she wasn't really that scared of it.

_Dear Photocopy girl_

_My advice to you is to relax and hopefully if the guy you like is interested he will come talk to you and you can get to know him. From what I can tell you don't really know this guy so don't be put out if he doesn't talk to you. If you are not sure about it maybe you should take your own advice and listen to yourself, if he doesn't seem right go for someone more attainable. That will mean less heartbreak and more of a chance of a relationship that will work._

_Love Phoebe xxx_

That was some great advice! Phoebe patted herself on the back.

"So Paige what is your biggest fear?" Craig asked pointing his coffee at her. They stood on the third floor office. It was one of the only rooms in the building which wasn't completely white. Instead it had a itchy beige carpeted floored, with pine cubicles for people on computers and had paperwork. Paige had one for where to put her recordings of Craig's experiments, mainly she was using her computer to send Phoebe annoying emails at work. The guy next to her hand an obsession with glue, he had about eight tubes of superglue in his desk. So Paige rather talked to her friends rather than hear the history of the Pritt Stick. Ooh, Phoebe's fear was fire she glanced at the screen. Craig stood his black hair slightly tousled from his earlier experiments, he had a gorgeous chiselled chin and high broad cheekbones, well carved lips, she would love to kiss those strong carved lips, oh! and his gorgeous deep grey eyes full of fun cheekiness. Paige loved his eyes, she could melt in them. His white lab coat had a large yellow stain on his left pocket which his other hand was jammed into.

Craig quickly wove his hand past her face.

"Paige?"

Paige blushed, "Oh? I have no fears, I'm fearless," She smiled flexing her arms jokingly.

"Well, I'll let you in on a secret!" Craig beckoned her to come closer, Paige did so, she could smell his neck, it smelt like lavender soap, she loved clean necks, Damnit the more she did this the more she wanted to grab him and kiss him, then his voice whispered in her ear softly, "I hate heights!"

Clara the copy girl inched towards them, "I'm scared of water." She said confidently.

"Hey there!" Craig smiled waving at her, Clara blushed. Paige studied the copy girl, it was sort of obvious she fancied Craig she just didn't really have the guts to actually flirt with him. She had deep chestnut brown shoulder length hair, it was extremely straight and sleek, Paige sometimes wished that she could have hair that shiny but, it just wouldn't suit her. She had similar eyes, deep brown eyes, with a small amount of eyeliner. She had very big lips and she was abnormally long legs too. She was asked at one point by a scout when Paige went out for coffee with her if had worked as a model but apparently she wanted to do more with her life than strut about a cat walk.

"Well, I guess… I hate being in small places like the walls closing in on me and stuff… and I hate the sight of blood." Paige said counting them off on her fingers. Glancing at her new friends. Craig drank in her words as she said them and nodded slowly taking it in, oh how she loved guys who listened to what said!

"I just hate water, drowning is a huge fear of mine." Clara explained. "What started this fear thing?"

"Uh… I don't know…" Craig replied rather perplexed.

Man it's much easier getting them to tell you their fears than just having to look for them, Barbas astral projected as a ghost behind Craig. The Charmed one began to laugh. She won't be laughing for long… not when he was through. Just 2 more floors then he could start his plan. 0h how couldn't wait to begin his house of horrors! He rubbed his hands together shimmering up a floor.

Piper stood in the kitchen stirring a pot of stew she had been working on, she touched it to her lips and let it roll along her tongue for a few seconds, yes that would do! She continued to stir absentmindedly when suddenly white orbs filled the kitchen, she jumped back as her son materialised opposite her.

"Hey!" He said waving his hand weakly at his mother.

"Chris… hi!" She smiled.

"Will, you be having any of my delicious stew?" She asked holding her spoon.

"Actually, there is a rumour going around that Barbas has been at it again, I thought we could you know vanquish him before he does anything."

"No stew?" Piper shook her head, what was the point no one was going to eat it. No one ever stayed in the manor for more then 20 minutes anymore.

Chris shook his head, "Barbas is planning to make some house of horrors to kill some innocents, and no I'm not hungry. Sorry!"

"Fine, I'll do the stupid potion, just to save this week from demonic central as always."

Chris nodded, "Like a pre-emptive strike!" He smiled glad Piper understood.

"Fine go and get my sisters and then we will get this over with!" Piper growled.

Chris orbed away obediently.

Phoebe sat at her computer since photocopy girl she had been on a roll, she had managed to get through half the pile of mail, then Chris orbed in.

"What?" She snapped as he materialised in front of her.

"Just making a vanquishing potion to kill Barbas." Chris said shrugging and jamming his hands in his pockets.

Phoebe sighed, "I'm on my way." She gathered her stuff into her bag and then took his hand as they orbed away, this shouldn't take too long.

As soon as Phoebe appeared Chris re-orbed straightaway, this whole Barbas thing was really agitating him.

He appeared behind a plant in an office room, no one had seen him, except a girl by the photocopier, she looked at him strangely as he strolled towards Paige, the girl by the photocopier followed. She had chestnut hair, like Bianca, "NO!" He hissed to himself.

Paige turned and saw him, Chris wove his hand and beckoned for her to come with him she shook her head vigorously. The photocopy girl walked past him towards Paige. Chris decided a more direct approach, "Hey, Paige you need to come home and do the thing that you and your sisters do." Chris said vaguely moving his arms around.

"Well, do they really absolutely desperately need my help?" She asked irritated.

"An old person… who is very … fearful needs… his medicine." Chris said slowly.

"Ok…" Paige didn't seem to be catching on.

"Barbas?" Chris said quickly, he was desperate.

"Barbas?" Craig repeated confused. Oh his face looked so cute when it crinkled like that, Paige, thought. Chris was not dragging her away from him.

"What has he done now?" Paige asked folding her arms.

"He's going to get into lots of trouble." Chris said exasperated.

"I'm not leaving till my shift is over, Chris!" Paige replied turning from him.

"Fine, we don't really need your help," Chris walked away back to the plant he had orbed in behind. Orbing was like sixth sense to him, but right now he wasn't clicking.

He just wasn't going anywhere, at all.

Instead he walked over to the lifts one stood open for him and he walked into it, what was wrong with his powers? Chris punched the ground floor button, the lift jerked into life. He went down.

Barbas stood on top of the 5 storey building his arms outstretched, finally, it was time to open his house of horrors, or close…

"What was his problem?" Craig asked Paige.

"Oh, nothing he is my cousin, we don't get along well. Trust me!" She patted his shoulder seductively.

Craig picked up on this, she touched the collar of his lab coat and pulled him towards sharply, he dropped his coffee and rested his hands on her hips. He gazed into her eyes, those deep eyes, Paige couldn't stand it any longer, she bent up and planted her lips firmly on his. Instead of recoiling as she had worried he could he kissed back gently.

She was right he was a great kisser.

Clara stood by the photocopy machine her mouth wide open, she knew why she hadn't gotten to Craig first she just wasn't that kind of person, who just kisses people. She felt happy for Paige, she deserved him. After all she was a Charmed one.

Chris stood impatiently in the lift waiting for it to reach the ground floor. Finally the doors creaked open and he walked straight ahead to the doors. He took the handle and pushed it gently to leave. The door remained jammed shut, no one else was in the room apart from the receptionist who had disappeared into a room behind her. He pushed the door again, then decided to pull it, nope that didn't work. It was definitely a push door. He tried his powers, he tried to push the door open with his telekinesis, nope. He looked down through the glass frame and saw bricks slowly building up from the ground. He glanced quickly through the door out of the window, people were walking past ignoring the bricks slowly building up, they were up to his knees in seconds, frantically he turned to the receptionist who was still absent, "Some one help!" He called, no answer. The lift doors were still open so were the others. He continued to bang on the door desperately what was going on the bricks quickened and suddenly they covered the entire door.

. What would happen if he touched it now he wondered?

He reached out timidly and electricity suddenly enveloped him hurling him back into the lift, slamming him against the back wall. His last sight was the bricked over door before he lost consciousness.

"It has begun!" Barbas cackled still standing of the roof of the building, "Tick-tock scientists your hours are numbered! Let the games begin!"


	2. The Lift Shaft

**Disclaimer: Don't own Charmed**

**Thanks for the reviews and keep it up. It going to get better soon promise.**

"Are those bricks?" Craig asked pulling away from Paige and concernedly looking at the full length windows to the left of the office. Carla was standing expectantly with a pile of papers in her arms and she glanced at the window herself and nearly dropped her armful of documents.

"Oh my God!" Paige gasped as the bricks continued to build slowly up. Craig pulled his hands out of his pocket causing a roll of sticky tape fell to the floor. Craig grabbed it and rammed it back in. Paige glanced at him.

"What's that for?" She asked leaning over.

"Just for our experiments." Craig grinned innocently.

"Well, I guess Chris was right I had better be going anyway." Paige was worried, she didn't want to know what was happening until she vanquished Barbas and was at home with her sisters.

"Well it's the end of my shift could you give me a lift?" Carla said quickly, she was desperate to get out of here and check if Phoebe had answered her letter.

"Sure, come on let's go," Paige said waving her hand dismissively.

"Ok, I'll just put these down here." Carla dropped the pile of paper unceremoniously on a desk nearby. "Ok, let's go!" She smiled grabbing her purse.

"Whoa, leave me why don't you!" Craig said his arms wide open in dismay as they started towards the lifts.

Paige turned and studied him, in a stride she stood by him and pecked him the cheek,

"Don't worry I won't be far," she smiled seductively.

"Well…" Craig turned red, "At least let take you to the door as a gentleman should," he said his cheeky grin returning.

"Cool, that ok Carla." Paige asked turning to her new friend.

Carla blushed and nodded softly.

The three of them walked quickly to the lifts.

Carla punched the button to call it and one immediately opened.

"Oh my god, Chris!" Paige cried as she saw her nephew slumped against the back of the lift, there was a dent in the back wall. Paige winced if her suspicions were true she would have bet that had to hurt!

Piper was standing in the kitchen stirring the Barbas vanquishing and Phoebe sat at the island and flicked the TV on that Leo had installed by the cabinets. "I am currently standing out side of the science building christened Sine Labe where, the entire building has a brick wall surrounding it. Spectators say the bricks appeared from nowhere and built up them selves. Others say it was a prank that some builders played the night before." A dark skinned reporter stood outside of the science building wearing a green ensemble talking directly to the camera in a dry monotonous voice.

"Whoa, that's where Paige is!" Phoebe cried dropping the remote on the floor.

Piper turned and watched the reporter as she interviewed the owner of the building, "Oh yeah, wait did it always have that kind of brick work, I mean there isn't even a … oh my god!" Piper realised the brick wall was not part of the building's architecture.

"What if Paige is trapped in there?" Phoebe asked reaching from her stool to grab the remote off the floor.

"And Chris…" Piper added slowly.

"Well, call him!" Phoebe replied, it seemed easy enough, why couldn't they orb out of the building?

"CHRIS!" Piper screamed as she placed a spoon in the pot and started to stir frantically.

"Calm down!" Phoebe soothed practising breathing in using over exaggerated arm movements as she did. They waited a couple of minutes Piper started tapping her foot.

"Maybe he didn't hear you," Phoebe suggested.

"Hmm… CHRIS!!!" Piper screamed again. There was no reply.

The small group of three raced into the lift and Paige and Craig knelt beside the unconscious Chris. Paige began to nudge him gently, "Chris," She said softly.

Craig copied, Carla knelt beside them slowly, then sighed and squeezed past Craig and rose her hand and slapped Chris as hard as could across the face.

Craig and Paige stared at her in awe.

Carla shrugged, "He's dead." She said emotionlessly.

"He is not dead." Paige growled.

The lift doors slammed shut.

"Carla did you push the button?" Craig asked nervously.

"No…" Carla replied dragging out the o for innocence.

"Great where are we going then?" He asked nervously.

All the lights on the lift start to flash on and off, "Whoa, not good!" Paige said nervously as the lift began to jerk to life.

The lift started hurtling to the top floor, the roof smashed as they hit the top of the shaft, the groups hands flew over their heads as shredded metal fell onto them. The lift began to plummet to the ground floor.

"What do we do?" Carla screamed petrified.

"We don't panic!" Paige said hysterically.

Craig got to his feet, "We need to get on top of this to stop us from making impact with the floor, or hello Craig soup for lunch." Craig explained.

"What about Chris?" Paige asked.

Craig pulled the tape out of his pocket and wove it.

"Huh?" Paige said clearly confused.

Craig grabbed Chris' legs and taped them together quickly and did the same with his legs.

"Going up!" Craig quipped, climbing onto some metal and vaulting through the roof.

"Girlies pass up the dead guy!" He said reaching down. Paige took her nephew's limp body and with some help from Carla pushed him through the hole. They both vaulted up together and then the lift made contact with the floor.

"GET BACK!" Craig yelled throwing them to the wall of the shaft. The lift crumpled like paper onto the floor.

"Are we ok?" Carla whimpered removing her hand from shielding her face.

The others had a few cuts and bruises and Chris was ok. She looked at the mangled lift they were perched on, good thing they weren't in it, or Craig was right, they would have been soup.

"We are fine." Paige replied slowly stumbling to her feet.

"Good, now what?" Carla replied.

Craig just looked up and pointed to up the shaft uneasily.

"Going up?" Paige asked grimly.

Craig nodded, a look of terror on his face. He hated heights.

Darryl stood outside of the christened Sine Labe building, they had fire fighters using their equipment to try and break through the walls. So far his phone had not stopped since the place had been on the news. Piper and Phoebe had called him as soon as the reporter had finished up and were asking if he had seen Paige or Chris. Which of course he hadn't, no one was leaving that building if they were stuck in there. Unless they did that, 'orbing' thing they loved so much. They were both part Whitelighters after all, that Darryl didn't understand. Unless is was another one of the demonic supernatural cases which nearly caused the whole city to go up in flames or something. That would definitely not make his job any easier.

The demonic council looked over the current situation. The Harpy was furious, "How can he do this?" She seethed, "He will be the one exposing us!"

"He has it under control, as long as they are dead what does it matter?" The Gremlock pointed out.

"Yes, the Cleaners can erase the memory of the building being bricked over." The Head agreed solemnly.

"Yes… he did capture a Charmed one though." The Fury pointed out as the scene changed back to the lift shaft. The group were slowly making their way up the ladder.

"Yes, and the firestarter too, this will be most interesting," The Harpy lent forward.

Chris was still unconscious so Craig had volunteered to carry him taping him to his shirt, at first this seemed like a good idea but Carla was beneath him and was pushing up his legs with one hand and trying to hang on to the rungs of the ladder with the other. Progress was at a snail pace with Paige at the lead who had to keep stopping while the others caught up.

"You know what would help." Craig chirped up.

"What?" Carla panted, Craig had stopped so she was trying to keep Chris' dangling legs away from her face.

"A song." Craig replied cheerfully.

"Ok…" Paige stopped herself.

"I see England, I see France, I see Paige's underpants." Craig sang loudly.

Carla choked a laugh.

Paige looked down at him condescendingly, "Quit it!" She whined, yanking her skirt down past her knees.

"This is the last time I get stuck in a lift shaft with you guys!" She moaned jokingly.

"Are we anywhere near an exit?" Carla piped up, this was taking longer and no matter how much she liked Chris, she really couldn't hold on to his legs much longer.

"Uh… a couple more feet I think." Paige glanced up.

"Great, let's go troops." Craig said raising his fist.

Paige, liked Craig, he was gorgeous intelligent and of course single but he was sometimes extremely immature.

"Let's keep moving." Carla suggested hopefully.

They continued moving up.

"Yes we made it!" Paige said triumphantly, as she ducked into the vent.

"Hurray!" Craig undid the tape holding Chris to his chest and pushed him up while Paige dragged him into the vent by his limp arms.

They all journeyed into the vent and sat there, it was about 3 feet high and 6 feet wide.

So they were currently in a sitting position, it was also completely metallic.

"We have to wake up this guy." Carla said pointed to Chris who was slumped against the wall further into the vent.

"How?" Paige asked.

"I could slap him again?" Carla suggested innocently.

"Nope, that won't work." Craig said all too quickly.

"Fine what do you propose we do?" Carla replied.

Before Craig began to argue Chris began to twitch, "How about the old fashioned way and wait for him to wake up?" He suggested as Chris rolled over.

Chris saw a metal ceiling above him, this wasn't the lift in the lobby.

He bolted up hitting his head against the top of the vent and falling back down.

"Don't tell me he's unconscious again?" Craig groaned.

"I'm up!" Chris croaked. He slowly dragged himself to a sitting position.

"Where am I?" He asked looking around bewildered.

"An air vent, you'd be surprised to know, there isn't a lot of air in here, is it hot?" Paige began to fan herself.

"Oh, I forgot, you said you don't like confined spaces." Carla pointed out.

"Ok, so I'm slightly claustrophobic. Big deal!" She said her hand becoming frantic.

"Let's please get out of here before Paige explodes." Craig said starting to crawl along the vent.

The others followed slowly, Paige was directly behind Craig, then Chris then Clara.

Craig stopped suddenly, "What?" Paige asked irritated by the delay.

"What else were you scared of?" Craig asked shakily.

Paige remained silent, she didn't want to know she wasn't listening!

Craig turned holding up his left hand, it was covered in blood. Paige threw herself backwards knocking Chris onto Clara.

"BLOOD?" Paige shrieked hysterically.

Blood began seeping down the tunnel they were in running oozing past they hands and knees as they returned to their crawling positions. Paige felt the small walls close on her, this was horrific. Craig turned, "Back, back , back!" He cried shuffling as quickly as he could back down the vent. The others copied. Paige glanced behind her the blood was becoming deeper and she could vaguely see some shapes floating in it. She didn't want to know, she didn't want to know!

The returned to the ladders and scrambled down them.

Then a huge wave of crimson blood gushed out of the vent along with a deformed figure. Paige didn't look, she didn't want to know.

Chris gasped, "I think that's the receptionist he whispered.

**I told you it would be getting scary!!!**

**I warned you didn't I!!! Well please don't stop reading just because of that. I swear it will get much, much, much better!!! Promise just bear with me please!!!**


	3. The Vent

**Disclaimer: Don't own Charmed never will… blah, blah, blah!!!**

**Thanks for all the reviews!!! Thank you thank you thank you…**

**Reminder: Ok well Paige, Chris, copy girl and scientist are in the lift and after a spirited sing song are making their way back through the vent.**

"Well, so far he has had the building for an hour and two people are dead," The gremlock watched the projection closely.

"Yes, but there is five floors worth of scientists for him to kill!" The Harpy spat.

"If two per hour is his plan. They will all be dead in the next three days though." The Fury hissed.

"We shouldn't trust him. I say we send my warriors in to destroy the Charmed one and the firestarter now!" The Harpy screeched.

"Give him time Dalia." The Head said calmly.

"He has a week." The Gremlock said, "Then we finish the job and kill him."

"I say we just kill him anyway!" Dalia sulked.

"No! He is a good ally. Now we can see the great demon of fear at work!" The Head said interested.

"I agree with Dalia, I say we kill him!" A Trok demon said leaning closer to the projection.

"Patience…" The Fury hissed.

"We're demons. Why should we care?" The Trok demon snarled.

"SILENCE!" The Head bellowed, the room fell silent. "We are going to kill all the people whether Barbas wants us to or not, we will be sending Dalia's troops in first. What do you say to that."

The Harpy nodded solemnly.

"Now… let us continue our observation without killing one another, please!" The Head said.

Phoebe raced under the tape surrounding the science building and ignored the shouting officers, she headed straight for Darryl who was still on his phone.

"Hey, any news?" She asked.

"The Fire department have just arrived with their equipment builders are coming soon too." Phoebe glanced over at the trucks parked near the bricked over building.

"Do you know _what _this is?" He asked exasperatedly.

"No, idea!" Phoebe shaking her head.

"Great, all I can do is go along with the rumours at the minute." He glanced at the building, "But it looks a bit big for just a prank." He said nervously.

"Listen, you want to know what my suspicions are?" Phoebe asked.

"No, it's better I don't know."

"Aw, what a good way to look at things Darryl." Phoebe cooed placing her arm on his shoulder, "Anyway we think it has something to do with Barbas the demon of fear."

Darryl thrust his hands over his ears, then looked at her anxiously, "Your mouth stopped moving. Are you done yet."

Phoebe nodded.

"Good, I just want to look at this as some normal case, and not have demons racing around. It makes it harder for me to explain if I actually know there is a demon loose."

He looked over to the fire fighters who were now approaching the building with all sorts of tools and battering rams etc. One swung an axe at the solid brick wall, he was engulfed in electric charge and hurled back against the truck. The other fire fighters stepped away cautiously, Phoebe and Darryl raced towards the man lying slumped against the truck, Phoebe bent down and paced her two fingers on his neck, he had no pulse. She stepped away. This was not good!

"Probably snapped his spinal cord with the force against that truck." A fire fighter appeared behind Phoebe and stepped over to his fallen comrade.

"ALL RIGHT GUYS. AND WE ARE OUTTA HERE!" He bellowed to his work mates. The rest of the fire fighters gathered their equipment and raced back to their designated trucks and were soon gone. The dead fire fighter fell to the floor, his face on the pavement.

"Wait!" Darryl yelled as the trucks pulled away.

"What now?" Phoebe asked, Darryl ignored and pushed past her.

"Great, they got this on tape!" Darryl growled walking purposefully towards the camera man and the woman reporter.

"It seems the building it all covered in some sort of electric charge that has just fatally wounded a member of San Francisco's fire force." She rambled, as the lardy camera man checked his watch passively and followed her towards the building.

"NO!" Phoebe yelled as the reporter got dangerously close to the building. That wasn't Barbas' power, what the hell was that?

It was too late the woman reached over to touch the building and was hurled backwards knocking her camera man to the floor and landing straight onto him.

"JERRY?" She squealed as she stumbled to her feet. Phoebe raced towards them, what the hell was that woman thinking? She had seen what the wall had done before, so then she just put her life at risk and her friends. The reporter lay over her cameraman crying hysterically, her green suit crumpled. Phoebe examined the cameraman and saw blood dribbling from his mouth, he was dead too, she had crushed him.

The reporter stood over her friend bawling, Darryl rushed to Phoebe's side.

"Call an ambulance!" She instructed quickly, her voice cracking, "And make sure _no one _ gets through this tape!" She added hesitantly. Darryl nodded and flipped his phone from his pocket.

"Yeah, 911, we have two non pulsating victims at the Sine Labe building downtown, please send an ambulance. Darryl Morris. Yeah, I work with the police, we are working on this."

Phoebe had to get home and tell Piper. As long as Paige and Chris weren't around, she now assumed they were in the building and considering the damage it had caused from the outside she wasn't sure she wanted to know what was going on, on the inside.

"I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts!" Craig sang loudly, they were now back in the vent.

"They're lovely!" Chris sang.

"There they are all standing in a row…" Craig sang.

"Big ones small …" Chris sang.

"Shut up you two!" Carla snapped.

"Yeah cut it out!" Paige added angrily.

"What? Songs lift our spirits!" Craig said cheekily.

"Not that song!" Paige growled.

"Well it lifted my spirits!" Craig said hurt.

"We are trapped in a blood covered vent, a body has come through here and,… and…"

"And you're wasting oxygen!" Carla added snappily.

"Women…" Craig sighed.

"I know…" Chris sighed nodding. Paige who was in front of him kicked him.

"Ow!" Chris growled.

"I see a light! We are near our freedom!" Craig said jovially, Paige looked up over him.

"That's … a fan!" She shrieked.

"Oh, my bad!" Craig shrugged.

"Wait, what are we going to do?" Carla asked anxiously.

"Hey, I was right, look there is a left turn over here!" Craig pointed out.

"Keep moving!" Chris yelled over the beating fan blades.

Everyone's hair whipped across their faces as the quickly progressed though the tunnel to a vent cover.

"And… we're trapped!" Craig said as they came to a stop.

Paige turned and hissed to Chris, "Hey! Use your power."

"I don't think I can, I couldn't orb out of here." He said quietly.

"At least try!" She said softly.

Chris shrugged, "Worth a shot I guess. I need a good view of it though." Paige nodded.

"Hey Craig, move. Chris does … weight lifting, maybe he can move the cover."

Craig snorted loudly but did as asked and moved over to let Chris through.

Chris glared at Paige as she crawled past, ok so weight lifting wasn't such a good thing to say, she shrugged him off.

He knelt over the cover and reached his fingers though the gaps carefully then concentrated on the nails. "Come on…" He murmured.

The nails began to shake, Chris felt a wave of relief they couldn't orb but at least they could protect themselves. The nails continued to vibrate slowly inching their way out of the holes.

"So… Chris body builds?" Carla asked Paige quietly.

"Yeah," Paige replied not catching onto what Carla was getting at.

"So, he'll have lots of… muscles." Paige choked at this comment, Paige had never met a more weedy looking guy when it involved muscles.

She nodded swallowing her laughter.

They heard a loud clatter over the beating fan and Chris turned and nodded at them, as she saw him jump through the gap where the cover had been Paige had to admit, weedy was one thing, but he was athletic.

"Out of the vent so soon?" Barbas sniggered astral projecting by Chris as he helped the girls done through the gap and Craig dusted himself down. The group were now culminating in a hallways, the corridor stretched to the left it looked for ever, but a flight of stairs could vaguely be seen about 20 feet to their left, the problem being the entire corridor was glistening white.

"Now it is time to split the group… "

Paige stumbled over to Craig who was examining the blood stains on his tattered jeans.

"Hey you, thanks for helping me out the vent." She said to him angrily.

"Hey weight lifter is doing a better job then me!" He replied still looking at his jeans with great fascination.

Barbas wove his hand and sniggered.

Carla who was didn't like the look of jumping onto the floor below her was being slowly coaxed out by Chris.

"Did you hear that?" Paige snapped spinning around.

"What?" Craig asked looking up at her concerned.

"That scream," she replied, "It was coming from down there." She raced past his down the corridor towards the stairs.

"Paige! Wait!" Craig said jogging after her.

Chris turned and looked as the two disappeared down the stairs and stepped away from the wall to see where they had gone and Carla tumbled out and landed on the floor.

"OW!" She groaned, Chris swung around and helped her to her feet.

"Sorry!" He said softly.

"No problem, I just think I cracked a rib," She said clutching her side.

Chris had broken all his ribs at least once but Leo had always healed them, so he decided to keep quiet.

She stood shakily and leant on his side draping her arm around his shoulder. Then she burst into laughter and hopped away giggling.

"Wait, your ok!" He said, as she laughed.

"Sure, I'm fine. It's just against the rules for me to you know…"

"Rules… huh?" Chris asked perplexed by her behaviour.

"Flirt with Whitelighters, silly!" She said still giggling uncontrollably.

"PAIGE!" Craig yelled jogging down the stairs after his assistant, for a girl she sure was fast. In all his life he had never met a girl as complex as her. Well most girls he dated only had their IQ in single digits, he didn't like to go out with intelligent women. He found them intimidating, and they never laughed at his jokes. It made him feel unappreciated. But Paige was different, she laughed at some of his jokes, only the ones which didn't involve female discrimination. Jokes with out this in his normally lacked in. Why had she kissed him then?

"Women…" He sighed to himself.

He checked his now bloodstained watch, it was broken the second hand kept ticking though, the rest didn't move, just the second hand. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. These were seconds he was never going to get back in his life… and he was standing a stairwell!

"PAIGE!" He yelled.

He raced down the stairs and ran into her, she had stopped her hands clasped over her mouth in shock. He followed her line of vision, on the floor he saw two bodies. They weren't bleeding they were burnt.

Paige fell to her knees, "Mom? Dad?" She whimpered.

"Paige..." Craig knelt beside her and squeezed her shoulder, she fell into his arms crying.

All he saw were two nameless bodies. Craig had the creepiest feeling, they weren't Paige's parents, she imagined them different. She had a photo of her foster parents in her purse.

Was she seeing something different?


	4. Frank

**Disclaimer: Don't own Charmed, nada zilch zip!!!**

**Thanks again for all those reviews, you guys are great. By the way Midglet stop having a go at me for not knowing the characters because Carla and Craig are my original creations. So there nyah nyah!!!**

**Oh yeah and I'm glad you all liked my work, yeah Barbas has got style!!! :P**

**Reminder: Craig insists on having another spirited sing song with Chris is in the air vent much to the girls' dismay, and the demonic council are up to something in this chapter.**

Chris stared at Carla who was now standing her hands behind her back swaying gently, did she just… what the…?

"Huh?" Chris spluttered.

"You heard me, no flirting with Whitelighters." She leaned over waggling her finger at him.

"Right… Wait, you're a witch?" Chris asked.

Carla shook her head a grin now spreading across her flawless face.

Chris shrugged, he didn't like games where he was losing.

"Well then, we have to go find Craig and Paige!" She smiled and jogged down the corridor.

"Wait… what are you?!" Chris yelled his arms stretched out in irritation.

The photocopygirl swung round and stared at him, "I'm a firestarter. There is a reason this building is going to kill everyone you know."

Chris walked over to her, "What?" He asked intrigued. Ignoring her firestarter comment.

"Weeell, some guys on the 5th floor were doing top secret stuff and they were discovering the existence of demons, they nearly did actually." Carla said glumly. "The Elders sent me here when it opened to protect them… but I guess… I suck at that kind of job."

Chris decided to divert the conversation to more pressing issues like where their fellow friends had gone. He looked at her face, "It's ok we'll sort this out." Unsure of his own voice, he murmured. He wrapped he arms around her to make her feel better. It worked Piper did it to Leo. He felt her breath in, that was a good sign.

"Come on, we have to find Craig and Paige," he muttered.

"Fine," She wriggled away from him and raced towards the stairs, all her fears and sadness had evaporated, she was smiling again, even if they were trapped.

Chris was confused by this woman, why was she like that?

He knew that if he didn't find other members of the human race, this woman would drive him mad.

"Are you coming?" she squealed, standing by the stair case.

Chris growled, this was going to take forever, as he shuffled towards.

"Paige! They aren't your parents!" Craig tried to explain, it wouldn't matter even if he cracked a joke, she was too far gone for him to reach her. Unless … he reached into her skirt pocket and pulled her purse out quickly so as not to make her suspect any male… stuff.

He flicked through, whoa were her sisters HOT stuff! Ah, yes this was the one he was looking for. He slid a photo of her parents stand in front of some camping hut. The photo meant nothing to Craig but Paige seemed to be touched by it, aw her little eyes had stopped watering and were now…

"Did I say you could go in my purse?" She snapped snatching the photo off him.

Back to reality at last! Craig breathed a sigh of relief, he had dealt with a lot of women but none that told him off for showing them photos of their family… he hadn't gone to a girls house before so he wasn't sure about whether girls liked that kind of thing. Paige glared at him.

Obviously not.

Barbas once again astral projected beside Paige, "Well, well, well. I suppose we have gone through all your fears… what about yours hm?" He stalked over to Craig who was now helping the Charmed one to her feet.

Barbas wove his hand past his face and examined it, "Hmm, we well don't like heights. BUT our greatest fear is something else. Want me to show you?" Barbas snapped his fingers and melted into the air.

Paige clutched his arm tightly and they walked down the corridor clinging to each other.

Paige looked at the floor, a pool of water was oozing down the corridor underneath their feet. Craig ignored it and continued to walk along.

Paige noticed the water getting deeper.

Craig yelped throwing her backwards as an electrical wire swinging dangerously close to the water.

"Go back." He yelled.

Paige not sure what his plan was at all raced back to the stairs and climbed halfway up to avoid the water, then stared back down at Craig who was approaching the electrical wire, that now swung dangerously close to the water crackling with electricity.

"What the HELL are you doing?" She screamed.

"I'm going to move the wire! Then we can keep going." He replied coolly.

"You're going to get killed!" She screamed.

"_This is interesting!" _Barbas muttered in his astral form_. "Fine, that is up to you though."_

Paige quickly raced towards him through the water, "Wire!" She cried and orbed the thing from the wall to her hand hurriedly.

"Now go!" She said pushing him along.

Craig stared at her in horror but obviously ignored it and ran down the corridor, at the end he and Paige swung round examining the area.

"_Ok… so it wasn't my best idea… But that was just the starter. The main course is to die for!" _

Paige saw someone approaching them down the corridor, it looked like a woman.

"Carla?" She asked.

"At last me warriors can finish this!" Dalia smiled malevolently.

"Once they are in they can not escape." The Head reminded her.

"Still, once they have killed everyone the curse is finished." The Trok demon agreed.

The Head shrugged.

"Well let's watch how real demons do their job." Dalia grinned.

"Which way up or down?" Carla asked, standing by the stairs.

"Down, that's where they went isn't it?" Chris replied.

He looked around and saw a camera whirring around and pinning him to the spot.

"What is that?" He asked stepping closer the camera following.

"We have a camera system, they have practically bugged the entire building, along with the PA system." Carla replied shrugging.

"Wait, could people be watching this?" Chris asked hopefully.

Carla shrugged, "The control centre is on the 3rd floor, maybe we could find it there?"

"Ok…" Chris wasn't sure.

Barbas materialised behind him, _"You have just given me the perfect idea!"_ He cackled to Chris.

"_You fear is for everyone to know how you are feeling, you prefer no one to be let in. In case they are hurt. Like your mother was… will."_

Barbas vanished, the boy had given him the perfect plan.

Frank and Sam had been trapped in the room for 2 hours now, the windows had been bricked over and serious doubt was creeping upon them. In the room was 8 dead colleagues along with them, each one died painful humiliating deaths, each one died in fear. Their only comfort was that they were alive, and the security camera system televisions covering an entire wall of the room.

From there they could see people running away from unknown ghosts scientists causing themselves to combust into flames. Everyone had gone crazy, everyone being either killed by each other or something else. Some thing Frank sure didn't want to know about. He didn't want to die with a look of pure terror on his face, more satisfaction he had achieved what his main goal in life had been.

He just had to find the right kind of woman to feed his goals. He sat in his chair staring at the screens in horror as more and more people were getting killed by mainly now each other. Then…

He saw a chestnut haired girl in a stairwell with a dark haired man, Frank saw how beautiful she was and became instantly infatuated by her, leaned closer to the screen listened to her melodic voice,

"We have to find to Paige and Craig!" She said angrily.

"I think we should too, why is this an argument with you?" The dark haired man asked frustrated.

"Because, if what you said about Barbas is right… we need to find something to protect ourselves, a knife or something. How are we going to help them if we are dead huh?" She explained.

"Sure, it's just, today is the first time I have been in this building, so you tell me where to go and I'll follow you. How is that?"

Frank could feel the drool running down his chin. She was gorgeous.

"_Well, hello there." _Barbas smiled as the large man leaned closer to the camera screen.

"_Hmm well then your fear is simple, you fear that you will die never truly satisfied… wow that's a new one. Fear of dying is always a catalyst I suppose. Well you won't be needing that guy, he is far to whiny. Let's get rid of him." _Barbas was enjoying this game, toying with people's emotions was what made the job all the more fun.

Phoebe raced home and flew through the front door, throwing her keys and coat on the floor and climbing the stairs to the attic, where Piper stood studying the Book of Shadows.

"Got anything?" She asked quickly.

"I wish…" Piper slammed the huge tome shut.

"Well, now there is not only a brick wall around the building but some electrical field."

"How?" Piper asked bewildered.

"Not quite sure yet, I'll let you know. But two people are dead because of it. We need to figure this out before more innocents are killed." Phoebe explained her voice filled with panic.

"Ok… who does that kind of thing?" Piper asked blowing up a box of clothes to vent her frustration.

"Wait a sec… remember last year when Barbas got out powers and locked us in the house? You know bricked us in?"

"Yeah…" Piper was cottoning on.

"This is him just on a larger scale." Phoebe explained happily jumping up and down.

"PHOEBE!" Piper screamed. "If that is the case don't you think that…hmm I don't know that our sister and my son are going to killed by their own fears?"

Phoebe slowed down jumping till she stopped.

"Oh my God!" She muttered.

"How are we going to get in there if people get killed touching it?" Piper asked.

"Look in the book again, check out Barbas maybe there is a little more on him we haven't seen." Phoebe suggested.

Piper flipped the cover of the tome over, sometimes the Book would add it's own little things at the right time to help the sisters. Piper prayed that this would be now.

"Oh my God!" Paige screamed, "RUN!" Craig and Paige raced back towards the stairs, realisation was setting in fast, that was a demon.

She didn't know which but it didn't look in the mood to try and help them escape the building.

"Who is that?" Craig asked as Paige raced down the stairs clutching Craig's wrist tightly. "Paige!"

"Ok…" Paige paused, "THAT my friend is a demon, who will stop at nothing to kill me and you. But mainly me." Then she continued to race down the stairs leaving go of his hand.

"WAIT! WHAT? PAIGE!" He yelled running after her.

"I told you!" She replied. Then went back up the stairs. She had a plan.

She stood at the end of the corridor, a couple of steps above the water, the Harpy was walking down and quickly orbed the wire to the water, it still had electricity in it, she hoped it was enough. The Harpy looked down at the wire as electricity flowed up her body, she howled and burst into flames.

Craig took one looked at Paige and ran away quickly.

"No Craig wait! It's not safe!" She called after him running after him.

"What the Hell are you?" He asked shakily.

"I'm a … no easier way to this… uh, I'm a witch!" Craig cringed as she said it and raced away up the stairs hurtling into Carla who was on her way down the stairs. Chris close behind.

"Stay away from me!" He warned Paige.

"What happened?" Chris asked.

"She did something… and now she says she is witch."

"Well we are too!" Carla said unaware of the reason Craig was running.

Chris wanted to throw her down the stairs, didn't she know he was running because he was scared.

"You're all a bunch of freaks." He cried.

"Nope not freaks, we are the same people in the lift shaft just now you know our secrets." Paige explained lightly.

Craig inched away.

"Please understand we aren't here to hurt you." Chris tried the more gentler approach.

"But, you won't hurt me…?" Craig whimpered.

"Nope." Carla said softly.

"Ok." Craig suddenly brightened up.

"Wow, that was quick." Chris started to think that Carla and Craig would be more than happy together, they both changed their emotions like Phoebe changed shoes. In other words extremely often.

"Ok! Let's go, we need someway to protect ourselves." Paige said nervously, she was still shaken from the Harpy attack.

"We were going to find some stuff actually." Carla said.

"Ok, where?" Paige asked.

"We could go to the canteen downstairs." Craig pointed out, "Lots of sharp stuff in there. Let's just hope no one tries to kill us on the way."

"_Rats they found each other quickly, wait a minute how did that Harpy get in here. I'd better go warn the council. Dalia is messing in my affairs again." Barbas said and shimmered away._

Frank stood over Sam's dead body, he had been weak and pathetic and Frank could not stand people like that, now back to Carla. Once he had her on her own he would find her and make her surrender to him. He was going to die anyway. But first he needed a weapon of his own, he went into a drawer and pulled off the fake bottom and found Kea, his best friend, the one who stood by him over the years, the one he would die with, a long machete, being a butcher in his former job had made him love the sight of knives, shiny things, over the years trapped in this room he had promised the weapon that she would do what she had been forged to do. It wasn't long now. Then he would die happily. The group descended the stairs on their way to the canteen in the basement. The idiot was singing another song, again!

He would take great pleasure in ripping his throat open, Kea would like that.

"I know a song that'll get on your nerves get on your nerves get on your nerves I know a song that'll get on your nerves get, get, get on your nerves."

"Shut up Craig." Carla said angrily.

"I know a song that'll get on your nerves get on your nerves get on your nerves I know a song that'll get on your nerves get, get, get on your nerves."

"Craig!" Paige growled.

"I know a song that'll get on your nerves get on your nerves get on your nerves I know a song that'll get on your nerves get, get, get on your nerves."

"Craig come on man!" Chris said irritated.

"It was as I told you guys before, songs lift our spirits," Craig explained making over large gestures with his hands.

"I know a song that'll get on your nerves get on your nerves get on your nerves I know that'll get on your nerves get, get, get on your nerves."

"Craig!" Carla swung around her hand was on fire.

Craig backed away whimpering, and he went and knelt by Paige like a dog.

"Craig stop it." This was one of his immature moments, Paige decided.

"Ooh, I was right." He grinned.

"What?" Paige snapped.

"You are wearing pink underwear!" Paige pushed him away and continued walking.

"You sent your minions to do my job Dalia? I am ashamed the council does not trust me!" Barbas stood before the council.

"Barbas, it has been half a day, how many are dead?" The Head asked abruptly.

"There is under 10 people still alive in the building, our secret won't be spread, have no fear." Barbas bowed.

"Trok send in your minions." The Head said bluntly.

"Wait, sir, why? I am doing fine on my own." Barbas said annoyed.

"No questions, I want ALL the humans dead by tonight, then you can killed witches Barbas." The Head replied indifferently.

"As you wish, my lord." Barbas shimmered away.

"When do we kill him?" The Gremlock asked.

"Once he has done what he has set out to do." The Head replied.

The projection of the building reappeared.

**I know this chapter was quite weak but it's all building up to the next Chapter promise. Don't let me down keep reviewing, Oh yeah and I'm thinking of the splitting the group again. Not sure, let me know in your reviews. Thanks for reading my work.**


	5. Calling Card

**Disclaimer: Don't own Charmed or anything. This is all my stuff.**

**Reminder: The group are together again -not for long- he he he!!! They are journeying towards the kitchen to find weapons, the group decide to try and protect themselves to the best of their ability. Oh yeah and this absolute psycho decides he _likes _Carla, that one won't end well.**

**Apology: I'm sorry for offending Drew Fuller fans, I did not mean to say he was weedy, but Chris is. :P Drew is hot.**

Frank sat alone in the video room, not long now Kea. Nope not long at all, he thought softly. Soon he would have his prize, then he would surrender to death after destroying her, he would kill her, hear the screams relish in her agony.

He was salivating, but first he had to make his personal calling card to her, he set to work, she would know what he wanted, not too long Kea, not too long now… she was coming and Kea would be satisfied. Frank would be satisfied, Frank would die, so would the girl, it would be as God wanted it.

God, the voice that told him to kill Sam, the one who told him what he wanted was good. He was doing as God wanted, God wanted the girl dead, Frank wanted her to scream in primal fear. God allowed it, he was showing him the path to next life.

"_That's right, make your calling card for her, bring her to you!" _Barbas whispered in the man's ear, _"God wants this. I want this!" _He melted away, now to get the girl to him, to hear his calling card.

Craig leaned in a cupboard in the kitchen throwing pans and pots out disregarding the absolutely deafening clattering, Paige was an enigma, he wanted to crack her before they died. He knew he was going to die, he didn't have magic, or powers as his friends called them. The strange thing was he wasn't scared at all. He hadn't made anything of his life but he was satisfied he had done all he could, he had after kissed Paige, that was one thing he had wanted to do from first seeing her. Wow was she a great kisser.

"You guys are great letting me go around with you even though I haven't got any powers." He said pausing from throwing stuff from the cupboard.

"Yeah sure," Paige threw a large knife to the floor towards him.

"I have powers you'll need that more than me." She explained as he grasped the handle uncertainly.

"Thanks… I think…" He looked at the glinting blade uncertainly.

"Careful with that." Carla warned swinging open some drawers by the double swinging doors.

"I don't ask much just separate the firestarter from them." Barbas told the three Trok demons the Head of the Council had sent in.

The demons nodded and walked away silently.

Barbas clasped his hands together.

Once she was gone the rest would drop like flies, she was the only one with emotionally connected powers, then without her the other demons could easily take out the rest.

A firestarter would never hurt a human no matter how much they would try to hurt them.

Craig stared at the knife still hypnotised by the steel blade.

He heard a scream and scrambled to his feet, Carla was backing away from two mean looking thugs, they held pretty nasty weapons as well, the thing that gave Craig the biggest shock was the two heads on one set of shoulders they seemed to possess, they wore grungy, tattered rags as robes. Craig let animal instinct take over and threw the knife with all the strength he could muster at one of the hideous heads, one of the demons howled in agony as the knife sliced through one of it's necks, it's head fell to the floor with a sickening thud, the disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Nice one!" He heard Chris shout.

Carla made a dive for the door as the other demon tried to throw Chris across the room with it's telekinetic power.

"What are these?" Craig screamed.

"Trok demons," Chris replied loudly, and scrambling to his feet, "They have my powers, telekinesis." He explained as he tried to dodge a demon stalking towards.

"Craig's knife!" Paige called and sent the knife hurtling towards the one now approaching Chris, it hit it squarely in the back causing it to burst into flames, the remaining one headed demon used it's weight and leant against the door hinges then propelled itself towards Craig at alarming speed, Craig felt like a bunny in the headlights, he raised his arms as it hurtled towards him.

It screamed as it was thrown against the wall.

"Now you owe me!" Chris yelled to his fellow male.

Carla ran into the hallway to be confronted by a 3rd Trok demon, before she could do anything it pinned her arms to her sides and threw her into the stairwell, she hit her head hard off the banister, from this distraction the demon picked her up and carried her hurriedly up the stairs, as much as she kicked the demon it didn't let go or loosen it's grip, once they reached the 3rd floor it threw her to the floor, she raised her arms over her head in fear, the demon's distorted voice ran through the hallway.

"Now, I kill you!" It cackled in triumph, she wasn't some prize for some bad smelling demon to catch! He was making her seriously pissed off, oh boy, her power activated when… the demon began to be doused in flames… when she got mad. It began to howl in agony, then burst into a thousand pieces. Carla raised her hands to her head for protection from the remains. She slowly got to her feet, then she heard the PA system crackle to life, she heard a faint voice resound from it, she strained to hear it.

"Where is Carla?" Paige asked angrily as Chris finished off the second Trok demon with Craig's knife. He plunged it into the demon's back and burst into flames.

"She went through the door," Craig replied, his knife was thrown at his feet by Chris who was now dusting off his hands with a tea towel.

"Well, let's go find her." Paige said nobly and headed to the door.

"She's not out here." She yelled.

"Well, she can't have gone far!" Chris replied following her, Craig copied.

"Well the only way she could have gone is up! Or… along the corridor." Craig said looking fervently out down the corridor.

"Fine Chris, you go up and look down every corridor and then come straight back down here, me and Craig will look around down here, if she isn't in any of the corridors we concentrate on each floor separately. Ok?" Paige said in a firm tone.

Neither man could argue, it was the only thing they could do, she couldn't have gone that far. It also meant splitting the group but, they needed to, there was a good reason behind it.

Chris jogged up the stairs as Paige grabbed Craig's arm and dragged him through the nearest door beside the canteen.

Chris stared down the corridor on the first floor, nope she wasn't standing down there. Barbas materialised behind him in his astral form, "Hey, it's time to bring your fear to life," He hissed behind Chris' shoulder, "How about a trip down good old memory lane?" He asked.

Chris almost heard him, Barbas could swear he had shook his head.

Barbas wove his hand over Chris' eyes.

Chris rubbed his eyes, he felt something go in them. Once he had finished rubbing his eyes he looked down the corridor again, there was a person standing down there. It was a boy, in a black suit, he was staring at the ceiling unblinkingly. The corridor melted away and was replaced by a street somewhere in San Francisco, Chris vaguely remembered it. It was raining the sky was a colour of lead, rain pelted of the boy's face, he ignored it and continued to stare at the sky. He was soaking wet, the white shirt under his black soaking jacket was sticking to his skin, his tie was pulled loose, the man's dark hair was plastered to his head, his dark trousers were hanging off him from the weight of the water, he was missing a shoe, he wore a grey sodden sock on his left shoeless foot. Chris' couldn't see the boy's face.

"Hey!" Chris muttered walking over to him.

The boy bowed his head, then looked straight at Chris, Chris fell backwards, a set of deep green eyes glared at him. He was staring at himself.

Piper and flipped through the Book, they had to be a way to move the wall off the building, so far she had found that either all the people in the said building had to be dead, this was not an option at all, or, they had to over come their greatest fears.

Somehow Piper didn't want to know how they were going to do this, if she was stuck in an insanely white building full of freaky-geek scientists she would, her self not be able to give in to her fears.

Phoebe walked in a holding a pot of coffee, she had been researching what was so important about the building on her laptop, she had found no reason for any demons to want the entire building eliminated. So she had paused for a coffee break.

Piper squealed in triumph, "I found something!" She squealed.

Phoebe raced over to her sister.

"Overcoming fears," Phoebe read out her eyebrow raised.

"We cast it on them." Piper said excitedly slapping the page.

"Ok…" Piper knew what this meant, Phoebe was going to tell her she was wrong.

"Honey, that is a power of 3 spell, which we don't have, and we need to say it in the building they are in. And did you forget that was a personal gain spell?" Phoebe patted her sister on the back.

Piper felt so angry, she wanted to rip the pages out of the Book, she had been staring at it for 5 freaking hours and this had been her best shot, not that wouldn't work.

"Ok Book, this is IT! You tell me how to save my sister, or so help me God I will blow you up!" Piper seethed.

"Sweetie you can't blow the Book up." Phoebe pointed out, moving slowly away from her sister, she was worried about Paige too but when Piper got in a rage normally things were blown up, Phoebe didn't want to be in the way.

"Well, it doesn't know that!" Piper argued.

The pages began to flip automatically.

"That's more like it!" Piper said raising her hands out of the way and stepping back to let the Book settle on a page titled.

"Piercing Fear's armour." Piper read, "What the crap?"

Phoebe now interested returned to the podium, "Oh! I get it, the building is it's armour." She smiled.

"I know what it means!" Piper snapped.

Phoebe backed away again.

"Well, there is a potion to remove electrical barriers from buildings of fear! Isn't that nice." Piper smiled, then leant forward to read the fine print at the bottom of the page, "All we need is a minotaur's foot and 200 hundreds hours to brew it!" Piper knocked the Book off the podium to the floor.

It the cover snapped shut.

"Piper, you upset the Book." Phoebe said angrily.

"It deserved it!" Piper growled menacingly.

Darryl had never had to cover up a mess as big as this one for the sisters and he had to admit, he was getting pretty sick of it. They had not only caused the whole city to go crazy over a science building, the armed forces were finding it harder and harder to actually stop people going anywhere near the building, and since the two deaths this morning more people were appearing to look at the building, probably hoping for another demonstration. He had called the manor several times and each time the girls had still been lost on how to stop it. All he had to do was keep a million people as far away as possible and try and convince the army not to blow the entire thing up.

Easier said than done.

For the past 5 hours the White House had been meeting to discuss whether or not to blow the entire building up for the safety of others.

Darryl's first argument to his sergeant had been, it was a science building and toxic gases could be blown into the air and that would cause more harm than good. Then there was the innocent people stuck in there, Paige and Chris were in there, still alive.

He prayed they were still alive. For if not the fact he cared for them, then the fact that he couldn't bare to let the girls go through losing another sister, or Chris for that matter.

"The firestarter will be gone first." The Trok demon hissed.

"I agree." The Fury replied.

The council watched the projection of Chris standing staring at himself.

"I think the one with no powers should die first." Dalia the Harpy seethed angrily.

"Fine, I bet you three of my warriors that the firestarter dies first." The Fury hissed angrily.

"Hmm, I bet the same but I say the whitelighter." Dalia replied.

"I say the witch!" The Gremlock shouted.

Everyone cheered.

"If, she doesn't die first would you give me all your aura?" The Trok demon asked.

"Deal." The Gremlock slammed his hand on the bench.

"SILENCE!" The head screamed again.

The room fell silent, all the demons finished bartering their warriors and powers and watched Chris relive his worst memory.

The death of his mother.

Chris stared at himself, he remembered why he was standing in the street, he knew why he was so dishevelled. That day was Piper's funeral, after they had buried her he had ran, ran as far away from the empty apologies, the thousands of people who barely knew and ran anywhere. Just as far away from it all as he could. He had stopped in this street, by the time he had gotten there he had lost his shoe. He didn't care, all he wanted was his mother back. He stared up the sky waiting for her to come back and take him in her arms and squeeze his arms to his sides and tell him everything would be ok, and big boys didn't cry. When he thought about her lying in the ground a tear rolled down his cheek. He hadn't truly experienced death till that moment.

Death was like in cartoons, like coyote and road runner, it didn't matter how many times the coyote was killed, he still came back. Death wasn't a big deal when kids watched cartoons. Chris expected the same to happen, mom would reappear and help him with a math problem or tell him to tidy his room. Death only lasted a short space of time.

He didn't realise in reality it lasted forever, that his mom gone was a permanent thing, he never accepted she was gone.

He was only 14, he had been sheltered as much as possible from demons and death, now it had finally caught up with him, Chris had been lost.

That was one time when he had been open to himself about his feelings. The rain didn't stop for three days, he didn't leave for three days, no one came past him. The street remained barren for 3 days. No one in his 'family' came to find him. They left him.

Piper didn't come back. He waited for her to come back and she didn't.

That was his fear, his raw fear.

Losing Piper.

If she was gone now, in the present, he couldn't live, he didn't care when she called him and yelled at him. She was there after all. She was alive. If she died he would die too. He could let it happen. That sheer determination made him want to save Wyatt. That would protect mom, that would protect the world.

Carla stood in the corridor, the PA continued to crackle, she heard a voice whisper through the system.

Then loud and clear she heard her own voice.

"_I'm a firestarter." _She remembered saying Chris in the corridor when he had helped her out of the vent, that meant someone was alive in the building, they were operating the PA system and apparently the cameras, she remembered when she said that Chris had pointed out the cameras.

Then she heard Craig's voice,, it sounded determined, she liked it Craig sounded like that and not making stupid jokes, "_I'm going to move the wire!" _His voice rang along the corridor.

Ok, hearing her own voice like that was freaking her out, now her friends too, this was weird. She looked around, that meant someone had been watching them, Chris was right, they were being watched. By a good guy? Or a bad guy?

"_Let's just hope no one tries to kill us on the way!" _Craig's statement rang along the corridor. That was when they decided to go to the canteen. Craig had said that after the Harpy had attacked them.

Carla walked along the corridor, was it her or was it getting cold?

"_Where the HELL are you going?" _She heard Paige screaming angrily, Carla jumped, was that directed at her? She stopped, all she could hear was the crackling of PA system, ok it was safe to move now? She wondered. She slowly continued to shuffle along the corridor.

"Hello? This isn't funny, you can stop it now!" She yelled to the camera that was ahead of her, it whirred and pinned her to the spot, she froze.

The PA system crackled and another phrase spluttered from it,

"_Why is this an argument with you?" _Chris asked irritated, she remembered him saying that in the stairwell, he was annoyed when she said they had to find Paige and Craig, he knew they had to, she had been pointing out the obvious. It had annoyed Chris.

"Quit it!" She yelled, waving her arms by her sides like a spoilt brat.

"_Find… find…" _Her voice crackled through the PA system, _"something like a knife." _She had said they needed to find a knife or something in the canteen, to protect themselves.

"_A knife… a knife… a … knife." _Her own voice repeated over the system, it continued to repeat it, _"A knife… a knife…"_

"STOP IT!" She screamed falling to her knees.

"_I'm…" _Her voice repeated, _"I'm…I'm…" _Her voice continued to crackle.

"_Going… going…" _Craig's determined voice rang along the empty corridor.

"_A knife…a knife…" _Her voice repeated.

"_I'm… going…a knife." _A Frankenstein voice said, each word coming from the mouths of different people.

"_Kill… kill … kill" _Craig repeated.

Carla pressed her fists against her ears, what was it trying to say? What were they doing why wasn't she listening, she ignored the noises angrily, the crackling continued, she heard faint breathing into the microphone, the breathing got heavier and quicker. Someone was excited. Even through her fists she heard someone breathing into the microphone.

What the hell was going on?

"Why are you doing this?" She whimpered.

"_A knife… a knife… a knife… kill… kill… you… a knife… kill … you… with… a knife…"_

"_I'm…"_

"_Going to…"_

"_Kill… kill…"_

"_You…"_

"_With…"_

"_a knife… a knife…"_

"_I'm… going to… kill… you … with… a knife…"_

"_I'm… going to… kill… you … with… a knife…"_

"_I'm… going to… kill… you … with… a knife…"_

"_A knife… a knife… a knife…"_

The Frankenstein voice rang through the corridor, repeating it's message.

Carla screamed and ran to the stair case, bricks began to build up in front of her at an alarming speed. She ran into it hoping to break through.

"_I'm… going to… kill… you … with… a knife…"_

She was thrown back by an electrical current.

She was hurled to the floor. She rolled over and scrambled to her feet.

At the end of the corridor a large man stood brandishing a 12'' knife.

"Did you hear that?" He screeched hysterically.

The message played again.

"_I'm… going to… kill… you … with… a knife…"_

Carla screamed with all her strength.

Frank began to advance on her.


	6. Carla and Chris face their fears

**Disclaimer: Don't own Charmed blah, blah, blah**

**Ok, I'm sorry for taking so long to update, my computer crashed and I haven't had a lot of time since my parents forced me to start exercising more because all I ever do is mess around on the pc, so I'm jogging loads now. I'm fit and healthy but sorry for the delay, I'm doing it while my parents are at work at the mo.**

**Reminder: Psycho: Frank, thinks Barbas is God wants Carla to scream and die.**

**Carla: Trapped in corridor with psycho awaiting her death dun, dun, **

**Chris: Stuck in another corridor reliving his worst memory, the death of his mother.**

**Craig and Paige: They are looking for Carla like Chris should be but is currently preoccupied.**

**Phoebe and Piper: they have upset the Book of Shadows and are ripping their hair out trying to find a solution.**

**Darryl: Having problems with public welfare and is trying to convince the army not to blow the building up. Good luck Darryl.**

**Ok on with the drama, drama, drama!!! :P**

"BARBAS!" Dalia screeched.

The demon of fear shimmered in before the council. It was time to have a word with him.

"What is it? I'm busy, I nearly have the firestarter and the white… oh, what?"

"YOU! You let my warrior die!" Dalia howled pointed a gnarled finger at him.

"And mine." The Trok demon added nodding his heads malevolently.

"My apologies, it was not me who sent them, my magic prevents them from shimmering and other escape methods." Barbas explained.

"Then allow it!" Dalia snarled.

"That would mean letting the witches orb, do you want that?" Barbas hissed.

"Then they would escape, that we can not allow." The Head said thoughtfully.

"I could, confine them to only around the building." Barbas suggested.

"Only the demons, the witches can not be able to orb, we need this to work properly Barbas." The Gremlock spat.

"Fine," Barbas said brushing the comment away, he knew they would kill him if he did not obey but he could not let their demons mess his plan. Fear would kill them, that is how it would have to be.

"Send in the Gremlocks." The Head wove his hand towards the Gremlock.

"It is done." He replied softly.

Barbas shimmered away, he would have to find a way to stop the demons barrelling through into his carefully thought out plans. He pondered this as he materialised in the control room, then watched on the television as demons appeared on the bottom floor.

Craig opened a random door in the corridor and stuck his head around it, nope she wasn't here, just in case, "CARLA!?" He and Paige were searching the rooms, he did one side of the corridor, she did the other, simple, it was just checking if she was there.

Nope she wasn't there, next door.

"CARLA?" Nope.

It never entered Craig's head that his photocopying friend may be unconscious.

But the hall way was empty, everything was silent apart from Paige creaking the doors and entering rooms, she was more thorough in her searches.

Ok then, next do… he heard a crash. "PAIGE?" he yelled.

"CHAIR!" He heard her scream.

Ok, she either needed a sit down or she needed to throw a chair at someone, Craig somehow hoped it was the latter. Then he heard another crash, nope she was definitely in trouble! He clenched his fist around the knife in his hand, he knew if she was in trouble he would need to use it. Wow suddenly he was squeamish around blood. Stabbing things wasn't a past time, dissecting things maybe, that didn't involve 12 inch blades and huge demonic things lunging at him.

He heard Paige scream. Head out of the clouds, it's time to be action man! He brandished the knife and raced towards the room opposite him.

Piper and Phoebe stood over the Book, it was positioned on the floor, Piper had refused to apologise for upsetting it, so the Book had taken a grudge and decided not to let the girls touch it until Piper apologised.

Well that was how Phoebe saw it.

"Piper, tell the Book sorry," Phoebe said soothingly.

"Why? It's not like it's going to help us or anything." Piper had her arms folded like a spoilt child.

"Come on, it had a spell in there." Phoebe said irritated.

"No it had a stinky potion!" Piper pouted.

"Wait a sec, Grams brewed tons of potions, maybe she had it." Phoebe pointed out.

"She wasn't patient enough for 200 hundred hours!" Piper stamped her foot in frustration, the Book glowed and flew underneath an old chest covered in dust.

Piper's hands flew to her temples, she began to massage them furiously.

Phoebe tiptoed over to it and blew on the dust and read an inscription on the lock.

"Wow, this is nearly the same age as Melinda Warren!" She giggled.

Piper stomped over to her sister.

"Aw, how beautiful," She rose her hands to blow the chest to splinters.

"No wait Piper, there could be something we need in there," Phoebe cried lowering her sisters hands. She began to creak the lid open slowly.

"What? 200 hours or a minotaur's foot?" Piper snapped.

"Or just the potion?" Phoebe asked pulled out a dust covered vial.

"That's the potion?" Piper asked unsteadily.

Phoebe's shoulders hunched as she received a premonition.

"Brewed in 1962?" Phoebe asked clambering to her feet.

"Who brewed that? How do you know what that is?" Piper blabbered.

"Grams, when she was a hippie. She was bored, so found a minotaur's foot lying around."

Piper frowned, that story sounded wrong somehow…

"How nice! Gimme!" Piper lunged at her sister.

"No, apologise to the Book first." Phoebe said snatching it away.

"FINE!… Book… I'm sorry, come out from under the chest now! Please." Although Piper's voice contained anything but sincerity the Book crawled out from under the chest timidly.

"Good Book!" Phoebe grinned picking it up and placing it on the stand.

"I must say it inherited Grams' stubbornness.

Phoebe nodded as she handed the vial to her sister.

"Ready?"

"Let's get down there." Piper agreed.

Craig raced into the room opposite and brandished his weapon, he stumbled onto Paige who was wrestling with a bald grey headed man in black. The man had her pinned to the floor and was yellow light was transferring between them, Paige was helpless. Her breath was short, he had her hand around her throat.

Craig lunged at the demon, he bared his knife then before making contact swiped the knife away, he knocked the demon off Paige, that was the objective. Paige took a deep breath and sprang to her feet, "Craig's knife!" She called.

It didn't work.

"Nope, I took your aura, no magic now!" The Gremlock waggled her finger.

"Crap!" Paige yelled.

Craig dove towards the knife the demon grabbed the neck of his shirt and hurled him at the wall.

Paige raced over to him, the demon grabbed her and shimmered away quickly.

Craig hauled himself to his feet, this was bad!!!

He grabbed the knife, time to do what a man was created to do, save the damsels in distress… he looked around the now completely trashed room.

Hmm…

Maybe he should go find Chris first.

Darryl raced over to the army as they appeared.

Why was he the only person who didn't want to blow the building up?

Obviously others didn't or they would have blown it to smithereens already but, standing there trying to stop people touching the building or blowing it up.

He stared as they set up their guns. Helpless what could he do, the proper authorities had take care of the matter that was their job, not his. He couldn't stop them, the whole magic thing had gone way too far now, this was on a much grander scale than usual. He couldn't hide it or fake records it was out of his hands now.

"WHOA!"

Darryl grimaced, the sisters had arrived.

"What Phoebe?" He asked not looking at her.

"What … what are they doing?" She hissed.

"Destroying the building." Darryl replied blankly.

"Great… just a hint, if you shoot at that thing the bullets bounce back, don't want more causalities? Do we?"

Darryl muttered something incomprehensible and stormed over to the army.

"He hates you." Piper said coolly appearing behind her sister.

"He always hates me. What's new."

The sisters stared as Darryl futilely argued with the armed forces.

"Ok, it's my way or the highway!" Piper was growing impatient.

"I freeze you throw potion, got?" Piper instructed.

"Yeah but that doesn't stop the building being blown up." Phoebe argued.

"Fine, I freeze you chain yourself to building." Piper suggested.

"Stop being stupid." Phoebe knocked her sister playfully.

"I'm not, just while I freeze you throw potion and… I could blow the weapons up?"

Phoebe realised that they didn't have many other options.

"Fine!" She growled.

"Fine?" Piper asked surprised at her sister's quick surrender.

"FINE!" Phoebe shouted.

Piper flicked her hands due to shock and the whole scene froze in midair.

"Start blowing stuff up!" Phoebe said angrily marching to the building aiming her vial of potion.

Piper couldn't argue, any excuse to blow something up.

Her fingers twitched.

"Ok, then!"

Chris fell to his knees by the 14 year old version of himself, it was the nightmare that plagued him when he saw his mother, the agony he suffered when she died.

He looked down the corridor, he had to escape this, but his legs felt like lead, as he looked up at himself, the boy of him just stared at the ceiling. It was destroying him.

He glared at the stairwell, it was barely visible through the rain splattering on his face.

He had to get to it, he had to fight, he couldn't be weak, not with people in trouble. He had to find Carla, he heard a shriek. Carla?

The images around him evaporated, it dragged him back to reality with a huge bang.

Then everything went black, he heard a voice, was that Craig?

"HEEEEEEEEEEY!" Craig hollered.

He looked down the corridor and saw Chris lying on the floor, soaking wet.

Ok… weird.

He raced over to him.

"Paige is in trouble! I heard Carla scream too… hey!!! What's with you? Wake up dumb ass. What is your problem fine… ignore me… Chris?"

Craig gently shook his shoulder.

He quickly rolled him over, Chris had an expression of pure exhaustion, his eyes were practically fogged over.

"CHRIS!" The lifeless shell stayed motionless.

Craig looked around exasperated, he was the only one left to save the day and he couldn't do it without any help. All he had was a knife. Then he remembered the first time they had found Chris like this. What did Carla do again?

Chris was brought back to reality when a snap a pain shot through his cheek.

"WAKE UP!" Craig's voice shouted in his left ear.

He could feel his limbs tingling as he began to regain control, he felt like he was going to vomit. His eyes opened like shutters, Craig hit me. He realised.

Chris sprang to life and swung round hitting the scientist as hard he could in the stomach.

"You're awake…" Craig wheezed, falling to the floor.

"Shouldn't have slapped me." Chris shrugged hauling himself to his feet.

"You have a mean right hook!" Craig complimented clutching his stomach.

"Come on baby…" Chris helped him up.

"Why are you wet?"

"Long story, Barbas made me relive my fear. It wasn't good either…"

"Oh…" Craig dropped the subject, if it was him… nah he wouldn't have gone so far as it to say that a demon had made him scared, it was too surreal to think about, a demon?

"Come on, we have to save the girls." Chris grabbed Craig's arm and dragged him along the corridor.

Carla backed away as the mad man approaching her ambled along cockily, the fact he barely cared made her anger bubble up, he was just strolling along preparing to kill her.

Oh no she was getting annoyed, she couldn't hurt an innocent.

She glanced at the large lunatic, she was going to make an exception.

She let the emotion boil up.

Her fear, her anger, her annoyance, they all grew inside of her.

In front of her a wall of fire began to grow, it began to get larger blocking the corridor off.

He couldn't get through there could he. Ha! So much for that.

Frank watched as the flames licked around the wall, it had soon blocked of the entire corridor, a minor set back, it would hurt for a mere few seconds then he would be able to do what God had told him to do.

Carla watched in horror as the lunatic walked through her wall of fire she had conjured.

She screamed as loud as she could, her lungs gasping, she could barely breathe.

She smelt the distinct odour of burning flesh.

Two meaty fiery hot hands grabbed her by each shoulder and pinned her to the wall on the left careful to avoid the fire or the brick wall. She was facing him, they stared at each other for seconds.

His hands were burning into her skin, she looked into the eyes of this psycho, she saw menacing lust. She closed her eyes as he drew his weapon.

She prayed he would be quick and spare her.

She felt the blade slowly slice into her left arm. Blood oozed from the wound, she winced. The man placed his scabbed finger in the crimson blood letting going of her left arm which had gone numb. His hand was covered in her crimson blood. He stared his fist and stroked a bloody finger down her cheek.

"We are all going to die. You're lucky you are going in the eyes of God child." His robotic voice barked, spittle flew over her face.

She did all she could and screamed in terror.

"Ok, so the demon shimmered?" Chris asked Craig as they walked up the stairs.

"Yeah, he can use magic!" Craig pointed out knowledgably.

"Sure… did you hear that?" Chris paused.

Craig shrugged.

"Carla screaming!" Chris took the stairs two at a time pausing at the 3rd floor.

He stared at the brick wall before him, she was trapped in there he could tell. She screeched again.

"Hey… yummy someone is cooking sausages!" Craig grinned appearing behind Chris.

"You said the demon used magic, right." Chris asked ignoring Craig's comment.

"Yeah…"

"Ok then…

Remove this wall that separates me

From where I really am supposed to be

Move it now let me through

Allow me to find Carla and go to the rescue."

The wall flickered and vanished.

"Cool!" Craig patted Chris on the back losing his balance as Chris ran into the corridor. He used his telekinesis and threw Frank away from Carla. He was sent hurtling straight through the wall of fire.

Carla dropped to the floor gasping.

Craig gagged suddenly realising what the sausage smell was.

"I think I'm going to hurl!" Craig raced back down the stairs.

"WIMP!" Chris yelled after him. He knelt beside Carla who was in a crumpled heap on the floor.

"Help… he's going … to kill me… with a knife…" Carla croaked staring at him helplessly. She whimpered.

Chris felt a hand curl around his neck.

He was hauled from the floor and saw the large man that had been trying hurt Carla glaring at him malevolently.

"See 'ow you if fru the fwames." His lips were bleeding he could barely string a sentence together.

Carla screamed as Frank hurled Chris through the wall of fire.

He swung round to her and approached her with the knife.


	7. Fire Wall separates living from dead?

**Disclaimer: don't own charmed never will (lol)**

**Reminder: Paige has been kidnapped by a gremlock, Craig is hurling over the stairwell while Carla is trying to escape from the psycho who wants to kill her and threw Chris through a wall of fire.**

**Isn't it the drama great!**

Carla flinched as the hulking man picked her up again.

Chris was as good as dead, Craig was… where was Craig?

Paige was nowhere to be seen, she just wanted him to end it for her. She was tired of being the damsel, she just wanted her get out of jail free card and wanted to go home and sit with her cat watching 3 year old repeats of soaps she would never usually watch unless extremely bored, with a cup of frothy cappuccino.

Instead she was pinned to a wall a psycho breathing heavily on her brandishing a 12'' knife… she would prefer to be at home. Her cat seemed better company than Craig at the moment, the cat could sing better than him. The Elders had protected her from stuff like this normally, she had never usually had to fight for her life, even if she did she always had her whitelighter, Mark, at hand to heal her. The thing with Mark was he was extremely boring, having a conversation with him was like trying to explain to a pre-schooler sub-atomic theory. Quite hard. Not that he wasn't a nice guy, when Carla thought of good it was Mark who would come straight to mind.

But Chris orbed… he had to be a whitelighter… but he had used telekinesis too… so he mustn't be able to heal… it wouldn't matter though if he was dead… but Whitelighters don't die, she reminded herself.

Part Whitelighters do, a small voice reminded her.

She waited as the psycho ran the knife along her chest venomously. She heard a crash, Craig appeared at the doorway, don't run away again. Carla begged in her head as he gawped at the burnt lunatic pinning her to the wall.

"Do not worry I am here to rescue you!" Craig said nonchalantly. His face changing from horror to cockiness. He held his knife bravely although it was barely half the size of Frank's.

"Craig…" Carla croaked.

Frank swung round and faced Craig.

"Don't run…" Carla whimpered.

Craig's jaw dropped to the floor.

He regained himself.

"Where is Chris?" He yelled.

I'm not deaf, just dying idiot! Carla thought to herself angrily.

When she didn't reply Craig decided to start sizing up his enemy, who was foot taller then him and about 100 pounds heavier.

Frank dropped Carla back to the floor in a heap and stalked over to him and grabbed him by the neck.

"No fair…" Craig choked.

"_This man is full of Satan's evil, you have to kill him or God won't be happy." _Barbas muttered in his astral form by Frank.

"God wants you DEAD!" Frank shrieked.

Craig's hands flew wildly around the obstruction of his airways, he tried to pry Frank's fingers from around his neck but the burnt man kept his grip tight and firm even though his hands were covered in blood.

Craig flailed his arms and legs desperate to free himself, then he felt his knife clutched in his left fist, so he was right handed, he wasn't going to miss… now was not a good time to be squeamish, he closed his eyes and plunged his knife into Frank's right kidney blindly. Frank's grip loosened and Craig fell to the floor gulping in scattered breaths of sweet oxygen. He scrambled to his feet and quickly skidded over to Carla.

"You ok…" He asked examining her arm carefully.

Carla winced, he knocked her arm painfully and a stabbing feeling had shot through her arm.

Frank lay lifeless on the floor, had Craig killed him? Carla prayed he was gone, the body twitched. Carla grabbed Craig's knife with her unharmed arm and strode over to him. Frank was still alive she could hear him breathing, Craig hadn't killed him.

He seemed paralysed.

She wanted so badly to plunge the knife in her fist right into the mans chest but she didn't and turned to look at Craig, who beckoned for Carla to leave but she ignored him and slowly staggered over to the wall of fire, Chris was behind that…

She squinted her eyes and tried to make the flames disappear but they stayed the same, still licking the sides of the walls menacingly. She concentrated, Chris had tried to save her… she had to get him back…

whoa what this she was feeling? Compassion for a man other then Craig?

Weird…

"I'm leaving now!" Craig yelled jumping up the stairs playfully, "We have to go get Paige!" she could hear the noise of his worn leather shoes against the hard cold floor, then they died away and everything went silent.

"What about Chris?" She murmured to herself.

She stared at the wall one more time willing the fire to go away. It betrayed her, it began to move more violently, the flames hadn't burnt anything in the corridor except Frank. They had to obey her. She glared at them concentrating with every fibre for it to go away, her muscles tensed, her fists clenched, her eyes were squeezed shut…

But no change.

Suddenly she felt a hot hand wrap around her leg, she squealed, Frank lay on his front squeezing her ankle with his swollen burnt and bloody hands. She screamed, Craig had to hear her.

She screeched again.

_This was going to hurt._

A figure dived through the wall of fire, it had it's sweater over it's head and immediately pulled it off and threw it to the floor and staggered over to Frank and kicked him in the face. Frank's grip loosened instantly, his face dropped to the floor.

Carla looked at the figure.

Chris stood staring at her concerned.

He had lost his sweater, his chest was red raw and bleeding, his face a huge slash across his forehead. His arms were bleeding and bare.

She felt like bursting into to tears when she saw the look of concern on his face, he was too busy worrying about her to realise he was in such pain.

"Are… you ok?" He asked croakily.

Didn't answer and just smiled at him, he would have been cute if he wasn't practically dying, it must be hurting.

Carla didn't care she wrapped her arms around his bleeding body and squeezed him.

He winced under the pressure, she pulled away, her new top was ruined but his concerned face was now a contorted smile.

Frank began to shiver again.

Chris looked at the large man bleeding to death on the floor and saw the knife clutched in Carla's fist.

He grimaced and breathed heavily, then with a flick of his scabbed fingers the knife shot from her grasp into Frank's chest.

Carla yelped.

The body stopped moving completely.

With a flick of Chris' wrist it was over, he had killed him, one second Frank had been gripping onto his life the next second it was gone.

Carla gasped Chris fell to his knees, his body was covered in burns, she couldn't bare to see him like this…

"CRAIG YOU GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE NOW MISTER!" She screamed.

Chris' eyes flickered shut, his face had a painful grin spread across it.

She nudged him, he remained lifeless, he was either unconscious or… no not yet… there was a medical room somewhere in this building and Craig and her were going there.

They had to make Chris live… he had been thrown through a wall of fire for her, then voluntarily walked through it again to save her…

She wouldn't let him die, not now… not from the fire she had created.

A tear dropped onto Chris' burnt chest.

The fire wall beside them vanished in a puff of red smoke.

"CRAIG!" She screamed, now crying openly.

Craig swung by the doorway and moon walked down the corridor.

Hopping over Frank's body, he had thought Frank was dead all along anyway.

He gaped at Chris' body lying by Carla's feet.

He walked over to Chris' body on the floor and knelt beside his head.

He grabbed Chris' arms gently and pulled them up.

"The medic room is down the corridor." He muttered hauling Chris onto his shoulders.

Carla followed him through where her wall of fire had been leaving Frank's dead body sprawled across the floor.

His blood trickled along the white flooring…

Carla couldn't bare to look at her crusting over arm.

As she watched Craig solemnly drag Chris along the corridor she saw his back was covering in scratches. She hated to think what had happened after Frank had thrown him through the wall, but she felt like she needed to know.

When he was ready he would tell her.

Piper had successfully blown up all the army guns and Phoebe had managed to blag her way into an excuse for still hanging around, using Darryl to explain her points. As well as throwing the life saving vial of potion.

The sisters had ventured around the back of the building to try and break in, they had tried every ounce of magic they knew but even with out the electrical current engulfing it they were finding getting into the building harder than they had hoped. Piper was at her wits end, and was seriously annoyed.

As they stood in the alleyway where no one was going to see them using their magic (thank god) Paige was trapped in the building going through God knows what.

The army had carted off after Phoebe had somehow convinced them all, the place was haunted and she, being a psychic, was going to tap into her spiritual connections and open up a portal using the plasmatic energy surrounding the building, so she could get inside and save the trapped people.

The first words of psychics the army backed immediately away, they weren't into the whole magic scene obviously.

It had taken all the self control Piper could muster not burst into laughter.

Darryl was currently trying to convince the presidential troops that:

a) that blowing up the building was too risky and

b) they were supposed to be protecting the people inside.

c) he wasn't crazy bringing psychics to the scene

Of course after he explained all this his replies were nearly as simple:

a) this building was way too dangerous to leave standing because of the casualties it has already caused.

b) collaterals are expected in a case on such a grand scale

c) he was crazy for bringing psychics and he was going to stall them all day, the building would be rubble by 10pm tonight they promised.

Darryl told the girls that was the best compromise they had.

"OPEN SESAME!" Phoebe yelled at the walls.

"That won't work you know…" Piper growled.

"Why not?"

"Because you tried it ten minutes ago and it didn't work then either."

"Oh… yeah… we need to get more spells from the Book of Shadows." Phoebe suggested.

"Do you think there will be any more?" Piper asked.

"Sure, as long as you don't upset it again." Phoebe winked brushing past her sister.

"BARBAS!" The Head of the council howled.

Barbas shimmered in.

"WHY AREN'T THE WHITELIGHTER AND THE FIRESTARTER DEAD?" The Head screamed at him his spittle flew at his feet.

"Mild misconceptions… they appeared to have escaped one of my best plans…" Barbas rubbed his hands together nervously.

"Are you sure the whitelighter is still alive?" Dalia queried.

"I'm unfortunately positive… he will barely live through his wounds but they are in the medical room now so I'm sure he is dead." Barbas said regretfully.

Dalia snorted. "The demon of fear can't take care of a firestarter or a whitelighter…?"

"He has killed every other person in the building now though." The Trok demon pointed out.

"Yes! But we wanted the whitelighter and charmed one dead… neither are!" The Harpy hissed.

"I'll send my warrior to finish off the whitelighter while he is still weak." The Gremlock suggested.

"No." The Head growled, "Let him finish off the witch, then he can… for now let him kill… Paige"

The projection in front of the council showed them a image of the third floor office. Paige was tied to a chair

Paige sat in an old computer chair, she vaguely recognised this place as her office.

Her hands were stuck behind her and her feet were resting on a lump on the floor, she was gagged with a bit of duct tape. Her head was hazy… all she remembered was the Gremlock knocking her out hard and everything went black. She was sure it had been trying to drain her aura. But he hadn't blinded her…

Her vision was blurred, she could make out shapes and colours vaguely, but she definitely recognised her desk, with the glue obsessed guy next to her. Yup that was her pc, covered in… blood… with a dead body lying at her feet. The body vaguely resembled the glue obsessed guy… Paige felt like vomiting.

She tried to flex her fingers… see if she was awake… something was holding them still, they couldn't move. She twisted her neck to see… she saw her hands encased in a clear hard substance. She blinked furiously to try and see.

Her vision began to focus, she saw tubes of empty superglue on her desk… oh god… the demon had super glued her hands together…

The Gremlock appeared beside her…

He stood behind her and whispered into her ear.

"You friends didn't make it," he grinned.

Paige's stomach began to churn, she could smell burning flesh… it reminded her of her parents death… the smell had poisoned the air, the smell was unmistakeable… she prayed it wasn't her friends.

"They were killed by their own magic…" The Gremlock continued.

_Barbas astral projected behind the Gremlock_

"_Get on with it idiot!" Barbas muttered irritated, he had wanted to kill the Charmed one… he should still be allowed. That was the one he had been looking forward to…_

Barbas shimmered behind the demon and threw an energy ball at him, the Gremlock swung around screaming as he burst into flames. Barbas waved at him sarcastically as it burst into flames.

"My turn Charmed one…" Barbas swung the chair around so he was staring directly at the witch.

"Let the games begin." He hissed.


	8. Changes

**Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed or anything like that apart from Carla and Craig, sometimes I wish I owned Chris though but that's a drew fuller story lol**

**Oh yeah I'm fan of the month on the drew fuller site! LOL**

**I'm evil to Chris aren't I!**

**Reminder: Barbas finally gets to try and kill Paige. Chris is on the brink of death (booo) and Carla is feeling something strange for him… hmmm. **

**Oh and thanks for everyone who reviewed you guys are sooo great ****Sparkling Cherries**

**Paige Halliwell****Missing Whisper****Alyssa Halliwell****vampiress66613**** and ****Intelligent Fangirl**** you guys rock:P**

"I have found it!" Phoebe yelled to Piper who was keeping a distance from the book.

"And…?" Piper asked pacing around and looking up expectantly.

"I'm going to just astral project there, like I did with Cole in the demonic wasteland." Phoebe said triumphantly slapping the book.

Piper winced at how freely Phoebe used the man who had once destroyed her life's name. But then realised the absolute brilliance of her plan.

"I'm going!" Piper ordered as she glanced at the spell.

"No I am. Candles…" Phoebe noted going over to the table stacked with as many candles as humanely possible.

"Why?" Piper snapped.

Phoebe shrugged her arms laden with candles.

"When astral projecting you don't have powers… so I can kick demonic ass with out losing my powers." the candles spilled onto the floor.

"Well…" Piper trailed off, Phoebe was right her martial arts skills would be much more useful if Paige was in danger. She stalked over to her sister and helped her arrange the candles, finally they were getting somewhere at last.

Darryl had no idea where the sisters had gone and frankly he was relieved they weren't in his way and giving the authorities more excuses to call him a lunatic.

Whatever they were doing they had better get rid of that stupid wall before midnight, that was the only thing he had been able to help them with.

He knew that the sisters never cracked under pressure or the clock, that wasn't his concern. His main problem was that there was a sister in there.

Paige.

He had every right to hate the sisters over the years after all the hell they had put him through but he found he couldn't. They had saved twice as many people with his help as he had ever dreamt of as a detective.

Without one sister the whole power of three dies along with all the people they could save.

He was waiting till the army sent him the bill for the blown up guns that somehow exploded before they had a chance to use them.

He knew that the girls had done it.

It was situations like these that he wished the sisters hadn't told him anything.

"Spell!" Piper snapped.

"Here's what the to find a lost love spell is." Phoebe said.

"What about to find a lost sister spell?" Piper asked scanning it.

"I thought we would just tweak it a little." Phoebe suggested.

"Ok…" Piper turned to the Book not facing her sister.

"I was thinking something like…

"Writher my sister,

wherever you be,

through time and space,

take my soul near to thee!" Phoebe fell to the floor.

"That is great Phoebe, you just changed two words and it should still work!" Piper said staring at the spell.

Piper looked up at her sister and saw her in the middle of the circle of candles.

"_That _is why we don't practise spells in the house!" Piper snapped at her sister's unconscious body.

She threw an old blanket Phoebe used to sleep with as a child onto her sister. She lay in a foetal position her arms flayed over her head. It was weird positions like that, that Phoebe always used to sleep like as a child.

Barbas grinned malevolently at Paige as she looked wildly around the room to find something to orb or something she could do to protect herself.

Then remembering sharply that her hands were super glued together. She couldn't orb things to her if she could barely move her hands.

A shimmer of red light materialised behind Barbas who swung round to look at it.

"No one can get into this building through materialisation!" He screeched.

"Nope nothing like that, just good old astral projecting!"

Phoebe punched Barbas in the jaw.

Craig knelt over Chris' bleeding body as Carla wept uncontrollably.

He rechecked the pulse.

He shook his head.

Carla screamed.

Craig felt a lump in his throat.

How had long had he been like this?  
Craig prayed that his fingers had slipped or something and he had missed the vein he was supposed to be checking…

Carla noted his Craig's look of confusion and quickly leapt over to where Chris lay, she placed her fingers to Chris' neck again, a little to the left of where Craig had.

She felt something… it was so faint.

She squealed, "I feel it!" She didn't remove her finger in case it went away while she wasn't concentrating. Craig jumped and batted her hand away and felt it too.

He breathed a deep sigh of relief.

That had given them both a scare, after getting into the first aid room, (that had involved a lot of horsepower and an axe, they had found in the fire safety cabinet down the corridor. Craig had realised Carla's fire hadn't activated the sprinklers…) they had laid Chris on the floor to examine his wounds and the pulse had gone. Craig had gotten manic searching for it but failed. This caused Carla to go well… he looked at her tear stained face… like that.

Chris coughed croakily.

"You're alive!" Carla shrieked wrapped her arms around Chris' head.

Chris glanced at Craig confused.

"Get of him, your suffocating the man!" Craig barked playfully.

Carla dropped Chris' head and shuffled away.

Chris slowly moved his burnt arm to his head.

"It's ok bro, we going to fix you up, good as new!" Craig grinned opening a pot of salve and generously rubbing it onto his chest.

Chris' tensed muscles relaxed as it cooled the skin down.

"Gimme, some of that!" Carla snapped snatching the pot off Craig.

Craig sighed and went over to the sink and dampened a clean cloth, he began to carefully clean Chris' face with it.

He had already cleaned his chest wounds thankfully as Carla layered more salve onto it.

Chris stared at his two new friends as they busied themselves with his wounds. The salve helped a lot, the incessant burning he had been feeling had been dulled down. His face was slowly cooling down.

He knew he had to protect Carla when he dove through the flames, he knew it would hurt like hell too… it didn't stop him.

All that for a girl? Without a whitelighter at hand?

Was he insane?

It was like when he took a bullet for Bianca, off a demon who had absorbed her powers and lost them in a bet with Wyatt's bodyguard. He had helped her hunt the demon down the get her powers back. They had somehow gotten into a dark alleyway where Wyatt's minions had decided now was a good time to try and kidnap Chris and drag him to Wyatt's feet snivelling for forgiveness again, which caused Chris to get more battle wounds than ever. Every couple of months of protecting witches then Wyatt would send a pack of demons to kill him or capture him and torture him.

It just happened the day Chris was after a demon who had stolen Bianca's powers they decided to chase the demon too. Even though it had lost it's powers to one of the demons anyway. They wanted the bounty on it's head, It caused him to dive for a bullet that the now powerless demon shot with a gun, it was the only weapon he had, she was a threat so he aimed it at Bianca. It had hit him in the shoulder.

The minions had killed the demon knocked Bianca out and grabbed Chris…

They had taken him to Wyatt's lair and he had been tortured by Melinda and Wyatt for weeks, Bianca had gotten her powers back and ended up breaking out. Then he left her.

Melinda…

Carla accidentally rubbed a little hard on a certain wound, he had done all this for her…

Over a girl… yup he was clinically insane…

Definitely.

Craig left them alone when he mumbled something about losing his knife and needing another one.

Carla looked at him and screwed the lid on the pot of salve, then she started washing her hands in the sink. Without looking at Chris she asked the question he was yearning to know the answer to.

"Why did you come back for me?… through the fire?" She choked on the last word.

Chris tried to shrug as he normally would in this kind of situation but his shoulders were weak and limp so he didn't bother and attempted the more painfully option.

"I had to…" He replied softly.

"Why?" Carla snapped.

Chris didn't know… if he did he wouldn't be so confused.

He slowly turned his head to look at her.

She looked angry…

"You shouldn't have done it… look at you!" Her voice hinted with defiance.

He couldn't move his neck that far.

"I'm sorry…?" He whimpered.

"No, no, no… it's ok…we are going to fix you up… when we find Paige we can write a healing spell… and you'll be as good as new…oh my god look at you this is all my fault."

Carla was babbling like Paige did when she was upset or hyper or excited.

"I'll be ok… save Paige…" He choked.

"I will!" Carla promised.

"What's the matter? Demon of fear scared?" Phoebe asked and punched him again the nose with another sickening crunch. He fell to the floor.

"No, just merely surprised that you appeared just before your sister was about to die. You timing has always been just on the money. Can I enquire on how you do it?"

"Buttering me up won't save you Barbas." Phoebe snarled.

"I don't need saving," Barbas sneered.

"Good," She snap kicked him in the jaw. "Tell me how to get Paige out of here." She commanded.

Barbas just laughed and turned his head feeling the blood oozing from his nose.

"Why would I tell you that? It's not me keeping her here… it's the demonic co…" He burst into flames and vanished.

Phoebe rushed over to her sister. "You're ok… you're ok!" She murmured quickly ripping the tape off her sister's mouth and examining the superglue.

"We need some paint thinner to get that off." Phoebe said unenthusiastically.

"I could try and orb some…" Paige suggested.

"Go ahead…"

Paige remembered the janitor's closet across the hall, and tried to think of the can of paint thinner she had once spotted in there when she somehow got stuck in there. She squinted her eyes with concentration.

She heard a clatter as a paint thinner can materialised mid-air and landed two feet away from her sister who dived towards it.

"Ok… this is going to kinda hurt…" Phoebe warned as she opened the lid hurriedly.

Paige nodded and bit her lip as Phoebe gently poured the liquid onto her superglued hands. She ignored the burning pain and tried to wriggle her fingers and slowly she managed to gain control of her hands again.

Phoebe caught as she fell out of the chair onto superglue guy's body.

Paige shrieked and dived under her desk whimpering.

"What is going on Phoebe?" She asked.

Phoebe could only see Paige's shoes, she was really scared.

"Barbas is in the building… and,… and he killed all the people and we nearly got killed in the lift… we had to go through a vent and we nearly got electrocuted. Then Carla went missing and I tried to find her and demons attacked us… and I got caught by the gremlock then Barbas came…" Paige's voice cracked.

Phoebe knelt down and crawled under the desk wrapping her arms around her petrified sister, who was now crying.

"It's ok sweetie we are going to get you out…" Phoebe soothed stroking her sister's matted hair gently.

"How?" Paige cried, "If we could have got out don't you think we would have by now? This is too much… all these people are dead… and I don't know if Carla is alive or not or Chris and Craig either…"

"Are they magical in anyway?" Phoebe asked.

"Carla is a firestarter I think and Craig is nothing." Paige replied listening to her sister's heart beat.

"Ok… what is Craig's full name?"

"Craig Watson…" Paige replied unsure of Phoebe's motives for wanting to know these things.

"We are going to kick Barbas' ass and there is nothing he is going to be able to do about it." Phoebe promised squeezing her sisters shoulder supportively.

"I know…"

"And we can't stay under here forever," Phoebe said softly " we have to go and save your friends at one point you know!" Phoebe pointed out.

Paige grunted and buried her head in her sisters short hair.

"Don't let him scare me again… please."

"We are going to stop him." Phoebe promised again.

"You, sure?" Paige asked pulling away.

"Yup!" Phoebe said crawling out from under the table.

"Good." Paige muttered following.

They heard a crash and a scream.

"BARBAS!" The Head shrieked. "A Charmed one got into your building!"

"Merely an astral projection sire… nothing your fantastic demons can't handle."

The Head glared at him malevolently.

Dalia sneered.

"We have a plan," She hissed.

"Which is?" Barbas asked uncertainly.

"We have studied the building." The Harpy hissed.

"We found those scientists built it on one of the weakest points between our two worlds." The Gremlock sneered.

"Ahh…?" Barbas was unsure now of what the council were planning.

"We are going to send our troops to rip a hole between our worlds and get in there to finish the job Barbas!" A Lazarus demon spat.

"But…" Barbas protested.

"But… the humans are blowing the building to kingdom come at midnight, we need them dead." The Head snarled.

"Won't the blast kill them?" Barbas asked.

"No, they are magical, we need them dead before midnight, there could be a chance they will survive they blast… then we will have missed our chance."

"We need them dead now!" The Harpy shrieked.

"We are sending the demons now." The Head said before Barbas could argue the Head wove his hand sending him hurling to the back wall.

"They will be done in an hour, then we are sending every demon we can, you have an hour to do it alone or that's it. The building is being blown up in 3 hours." The Head explained.

"Do NOT disappoint!" Dalia growled.

"Darryl junior wants you to come home sweetie!" Darryl's wife said softly down the phone.

"It's a bit hectic down here sweetie… I don't think I'll be coming home…"

"Oh…" Sheila replied glumly. "DJ your daddy's not coming home today, I'll tuck you in, in a minute." She yelled away from the phone.

Darryl grimaced, this was the last thing he wanted.

"It's the sisters the army are going to blow up a building one of them is trapped in."

"Oh my god… honey…" He heard a crash.

"What sweetie?" He asked shocked.

"Your on the news!" She cried.

"Wait … what?" Darryl yelled.

"A woman died there, and a firefighter?" Sheila asked distressed.

"Please sweetie it's ok the other sisters got rid of it!" Darryl said hoping to calm her a little.

Fat chance.

"Honey they are calling you a mad man, get away from there please!" She pleaded.

"I need to stay here…" Darryl muttered.

"We'll talk later." The dial tone rang.

She was mad.

Craig yelped as a demon walked over to him menacingly.

"HELP!" He screamed.

"I was right! You were…" The demon took a deep intake of breath… "There is no mistaking that stench."

"Hey, wait? What am I?"

"Don't kid with me you idiot. Die with dignity."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He screamed.

"You sound like a girl."

"DON'T KILL ME!"

The demon sighed.

"You are one wimp! At least the others ran."

"Don't come any closer!" Craig warned.

"Or what? You'll break my eardrums?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He shrieked.

"Ok, ok, ok…. I didn't mean it you freak!"

A knife materialised in his hand.

"Now let's get this over with, what do you say?"

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Oh my God."

Craig felt trapped, he wished he could be bigger and buffer… something that could scare the demon? A big bouncer at the bar they never let him in.

Yeah that guy was ferocious!

He imagined the man with huge muscles… and really long wild untamed hair… and blue piercing eyes.

He wanted to scare the demon, he didn't want to die!

The demon flipped his knife in his hand approaching quickly.

Craig felt his limbs begin to itch as his body began to convulse, he dropped to the floor and his body twisted and writhed and he screamed. There was a crash as the demon fell to the floor.

"Come on! Your not epileptic! Are you? Dweeb?" He looked over at the scientist who's skin began to grow long hairs and twist into strange positions.

He could hear the bones cracking as the man writhed and twisted.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The demon shrieked.


	9. My arm!

**Disclaimer : Don't own Charmed**

**Reminder: Craig is on the floor twitching and has scared that demon guys pretty bad!**

Phoebe and Paige raced into the corridor and were confronted with a huge ferocious lion. Phoebe rose her hands slowly, on the floor lay a bleeding demon.

He had two huge slashes in his chest. Phoebe felt like gagging but knew they were immediate danger as the lion approached.

"Nice kitty, don't eat us please…?" Phoebe asked worriedly.

"Yeah, we have no meat on us… just stringy and…" Paige saw her sister's condescending glare. "And we would taste just lovely…"

"You haven't eaten any of our friends have you kitty?" Phoebe asked.

The lion ignored their comment and leapt lightly onto the demon's chest.

Paige and Phoebe edged closer as the demon muttered something.

"Stupid dweeb." He croaked.

The lion snarled and sliced his throat open. The demon burst into flames, the lion startled jumped away.

"How did a lion get in here?" Paige whimpered.

"I don't know but it's a right scaredy-cat!" Phoebe hissed.

Carla raced into the hallway and yelped when she first saw the lion and breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Paige. She jogged over to them, "Chris is in pretty bad shape, get in there!" She hissed at Paige.  
Paige nudged her sister's ribs, Phoebe went into the room behind them.

Paige turned to Carla, "Go in there, I'll handle it."

"Nope… this is my job to protect you, write a healing spell, I'll be in there in a minute." Carla patted Paige's back.

Paige looked unsure.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'm a firestarter after all. It's time for me to get a grip on these powers." Carla smiled briefly.

Paige walked away reluctantly.

Carla took in a deep breath and placed her palms together in prayer. She had only ever attempted this once… that time she was practising outside her grandparents caravan, a tough lesson. She had accidentally set the caravan on fire, trapping her grandparents in there.

She hadn't been one to trust her powers after that.

But when her whitelighter had appeared and taken care of her and showed her that magic wasn't evil. But she had never embraced her powers like she was about to.

"Ok… let's do this." She breathed.

She concentrated and let her magic engulf her like she had done before…

A circle of fire surrounded her and then she concentrated on the lion. Fear struck through it's features, the hair on it's neck bristled.

Then it began to twitch and Carla paused her hands dropped to her sides. The lion began to morph into Craig … naked Craig…

Piper stood over Phoebe's unconscious body, she waited patiently.

She knew she had to somehow vanquish Barbas, but was reluctant to leave her sister alone, in case the usual demonic attack happened again.

As waited staring at Phoebe's body… there was a loud crash coming from downstairs.

She decided to risk leaving Phoebe alone.

Hurriedly Piper grabbed a box with crystals and quickly surrounded Phoebe with them and raced downstairs.

That was the best she could do.

She saw a demon smashing up her floral arrangements, polite, she rose her hands and froze him, a good trick she liked to play was to only unfreeze their head and make them talk.

It wasn't a particularly favourite pastime but it worked and was efficient.

"Talk and I don't blow your hand off." She growled unfreezing his head.

"Who are you?" The demon asked.

"Don't play dumb with me!" Piper cried offended, this guy breaks into her house and forgets she is a Charmed one, who did he think he is?

"I'm looking for the nexus…"

"Why?" Piper snapped.

"So we can use it's power to make a rip between the worlds."

They sent an amateur when it came to keeping their mouths shut, she wasn't even trying and he was spilling his guts.

"So we can get into the House of Horrors and destroy the remaining magical beings."

"Anything else?" Piper asked.

"The council want Barbas dead." He spat.

Piper ignored her boots that had demon saliva on with gritted teeth. But couldn't hold it in for long and flicked her wrist in irritation, the demon's right hand exploded leaving a bloody stump. The demon howled in agony.

"Who are the council?" She snarled.

"A collection of demons who determine the rule of the underworld."  
"So your republicans now?"

"No one decides."

"Then…?"

The demon closed his mouth.

Piper rose her hand threateningly.

"It's the most powerful demon of each kind, then the most powerful demon leaders join to make the council, the head is… no one knows."

"Ok… anything else you want to tell me?"

The demon shook his head weakly.

"Good, well then why our nexus?"

"Because it… has enough power to break between the worlds, the council are sending a group to make a hole between the worlds and get into the house to finish the witches off," The demon's head began to shake exasperatedly, "I shouldn't be telling you, you'll tell the Charmed ones." His face filled terror.

That was the last straw for Piper. Every freaking demon in the underworld knew who they were, this guy had to the gall to break in and not even recognise, a) her looks or b) her powers.

Minions were becoming much more dumber.

"Ok… before I let you go I have a secret to tell you."

"What…?" The demon cringed.

"I am a Charmed one! See?" She flicked her wrists and the demon exploded. "Tada!"

"YOU'RE A SHAPESHIFTER?" Paige cried incredulously. "YOU?"

"Yup…" Craig had a ragged lab coat wrapped around his waist, thankfully it was arranged to not be showing anything embarrassing.

"He was the lion." Carla reminded them.

"Do it again." Phoebe said excitedly.

"Nooo… it hurts. And I only do it when a demon guy approaches me with a knife."

Phoebe sighed moodily.

"Spell?" Carla looked at Paige expectantly.

"It's a pretty crappy spell… but it'll work…"

"What is it?" Chris mumbled.

"I was thinking of just the vanishing spell?" Paige asked shrugging.

"Sure, why not?" Carla asked.

"Spell?" Craig clutched his head.

"Ok… you got it ready?" Carla asked ignoring Craig completely.

"I remember it yeah."

"Go for it then." Phoebe grinned slapping her on the back encouragingly.

"Ok…

Let the object of objection become but a dream

As I cause the seen to be unseen."

The burns and scars on Chris' arms disappeared, except on his right arm.

"Cool… it's working!" Carla clapped.

Chris sat up and rolled his shoulders.

He looked to his right and on the floor his right arm lay wriggling.

Demons were gathering around the hot spot. The Heads personal bodyguard led them.

"Here is what we are going to! Use all of your long range attacks. Only ones that explode on contact, darklighters etc will not be involved in the beginning of this excavation so rest somewhere else for now. We will need you to pierce through the armour.

"ALL RIGHT LET'S MOVE IT LADIES! ANYONE NOT PARTICIPATING EXCEPT THE FOREMENTIONED ARE OFFICIALLY DEAD. YOU HEAR ME?"

"Aye sir." The crowd of demons yelped.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

"AYE!"

"Let's get moving then."

"The group is in position!" A Darklighter informed them.

"If your minions do as well as you say then you will part of our council. You are aware." The Head asked.

"I am aware." The Darklighter replied.

"Good, we are leaking in demons, we have just sent a small battalion of harpies to start. They will weaken the groups force." The Fury hissed.

"Yes, we were going to send in a Darklighter… if you could find a candidate willing enough?" The Gremlock asked.

"I could find one… yes I know the perfect one."

"Where did you leave Barbas Dalia?" The Head asked the Harpy.

"He is still in his building… I just taught him a lesson he won't be in a hurry to forget." Dalia flexed her long green dagger like nails.

"Good, he will not disrupt our demons again, good."

"What now?" The Trok demon asked impatiently.

"Send in your Darklighter, Bresk, now we wait." The Head explained.

"I hate waiting." Dalia muttered

"Wait, that was just a vanishing spell!" Paige cried frustrated.

"My arm…?" Chris looked at his right arm lying on the floor beside him.

"How did it not work?" Carla asked anxiously.

"It probably reacted badly with the magic keeping us in here. You know Barbas?" Everyone swung around and stared at Craig. "What? I listen … occasionally."

"My arm!" Chris yelped.

"It's ok… your arm is fine." Paige said softly.

Chris glared at her, "It's 2 feet away from my shoulder! How is it _ok_?"

"Well, it is in one piece isn't it?" Paige snapped.

"Don't you act high and mighty with me aunty! You have both your arms attached to you!" Chris growled.

"Aunty?" Craig asked incredulously.

"Wait… whoa hold up! Aunty?" Carla wove her hands madly.

"Long story short… Chris is from the future." Phoebe replied.

Chris looked away and Carla and Craig stared at him with great interest.

"Just 20 years or so…" He mumbled.

"Whoa…" Craig muttered.

"ARM!" Paige reminded them.

"Oh my God yeah… that!" Carla snapped back to reality.

"My arm!" Chris mumbled.

"I will write another spell… or we will stitch it back on?" Paige suggested.

"God no!" Chris yelped at the thought.

"What do you want us to do…? Leave you armless?"

"NO but I would like it back painlessly. Is that too much to ask?" Chris snapped.

"I could cauterise it on… with a little help from a spell…" Carla suggested.

Craig and Phoebe looked at her perplexed, Chris looked terrified of the idea.

"You know, burn it back together…?"

"EW!" Phoebe winced.

"I could write a spell for no pain…?" Paige suggested.

"Well I'll heat it up… someone stitch then we finish with a healing spell -which we should have used in the first place…?" Carla took command.

"Fine, it's an idea!" Phoebe smiled.

"Cool!" Carla grinned.

Chris snatched his moving arm from the floor, "You guys aren't coming anywhere near me with sharp or hot stitching equipment!" He said holding his arm up as a barrier.

"Come on… it'll only hurt for a little while." Paige pleaded.

"Nuh uh!" Chris said stumbling to his feet.

He wove his hand at the door and it swung open.

Carla put her hands together and the door was engulfed in flames her eyes shone red for a mere few seconds.

"You aren't leaving till we fix you!" She said.

Chris fell to his knees in defeat.

"Phoebe, Paige, I'm going to find some clothes for Craig, just use a painless spell for the stitching," Then before anyone could object Carla walked through the wall of fire and into the corridor without even a scratch.

"Great, I'm stuck with you freaks, again! What are you freaks again?" Craig asked.

"Astral Projection."

"Half angel, half witch." Chris wove his hand.

"Charmed one."

"And I'm a …?"

"Shapeshifter." Phoebe told him nodding.

"I'm a freak!"

"No you are gifted." Phoebe explained, "You have been given a special power that is meant to help people, you should practise too. When I first got my premonitions it took me a load of practise."

"I'm not practising!" Craig yelped.

Paige sighed, he had to, she had to make him somehow… "Knife!" She hurled it at him.

He threw himself to the floor and began to morph.

"Wonder what he'll morph into this time." Phoebe pondered stepping over the twitching body.

"Needle." Paige commanded. "Thread… is in the compartment to the left of the first aid box. And the tweezers are over there."

Phoebe did as told and gave Paige her equipment obediently.

Chris whimpered as Paige began to pierce his flesh with the needle.

Then to take his mind away from the pain looked at Craig lying on the floor twitching.

He noticed silver fur covering him. Craig then morphed into a wolf in front of Chris.

Paige playfully nudged Chris' shoulder. It was all over just a spell now.

Craig sat a pink rough tongue ran over his nose.

He was a silver wolf. Phoebe followed Chris' gaze and jumped at the sight of Craig, a blue eyed wolf with silver and black fur. He was beautiful.

"Hey Craig." Chris held up his hand.

"He isn't going to wave at you Chris!" But much to Phoebe's surprise the silver wolf lifted one of it's forepaws over it's head and shook it. Only Craig would have that sense of humour.

"Good boy!" Chris gushed.

"He is sexy even as an animal…" Paige sighed.

Craig howled playfully.

Chris looked down at his shoulder, Paige may be good at most things but stitching in a straight line wasn't one of them unfortunately. How did he not feel _that_?

Carla wandered along the corridors, the idea was to find the room with the caretaker gear in and get Craig some baggy overalls. At least the chances were during his hulk transformations he had less chance of ripping them.

She saw movement at the end of the corridor, she ran down to see if it was any survivors… she should have known there wasn't any survivors left as a harpy lunged at her. She joined her hands again and shut her eyes. The Harpy never made contact with her. She had created a fire force field around herself, the Harpy had burst into flames before even touching a hair on her.

She rose her arm fire shot from her hand blowing up another Harpy as it approached her. Firestarters had these powers but most were pacifists afraid that if they used their powers demons would hunt them down and steal them.

Carla had learned from a young age how to kill a demon who threatened her so she never had this problem. But the only other times she had actually created this much magic to make a force field… was the caravan incident. She had vowed never to do it again, in case she killed another friend.

She had nearly killed Chris today, and she still used her powers. This was more a life or death situation though.

She walked along the corridor and killed two more Harpies.

She raced down the stairs to the basement, a congregation of demons were gathered down there. Mainly Harpies and one Darklighter. What were they doing?

She feared taking them on would make her too outnumbered so went to get the rest of the guys.

Say the spell and go and kick demonic ass.

That was a good plan even if Carla did say so herself!

Piper wandered around the manor helplessly. Demons were creating a hole between the worlds and were trying to get to their nexus to kill Paige.

Things were getting better and better. This wasn't the usual potion spell vanquish. This was war. Piper raced upstairs and began to brew as many potions as she could.

She was going to take the offensive. Cast a spell go to the underworld get through their little hole in the white building save her sisters and have a pizza. First she needed potions though. Because she was aware there would be lots of demons she just brewed as many as she could remember, harpy, fury, gremlock, darklighters. The usual suspects. Then she made a few out of the box vanquishing potions like a Trok demon one even a vampire one just incase. She was not taking any chances today. She'd taken enough letting her sister astral project there!

The group ran down to the basement and quickly disposed of the Harpies and the Darklighter as quick as possible. This involved Carla setting fire to the darklighter and a handful of Harpies and Craig leaping and slashing the rest to death.

In the middle of the basement an orange pool of light began to grow. Underneath they could see movement. The advanced towards it.

A rumble in the ground caused them to stop, Phoebe swung around, what was that?

She realised that demons were below them but that couldn't be the underworld… could it?

Phoebe stared in horror as a clawed hand reached through the barrier between the two separated worlds, the hand groped around and curled into a fist. It shot into the air and a flew into the air levitating above the hole that had been created.

Phoebe fell backwards, and scrambled to her feet.

Enough running, it was time to fight. She turned to look at her motley crew of absolute nobodies, Chris who was nobody more than most (being from the future and everything), Carla a photocopy girl with super duper fire powers, Craig… a guy who was a bloodthirsty shape shifter and hated the sight of demon guts… and her, an astral projection. Prue had always had that extra edge when astral projecting, like she could flip and other less then usual combat moves, time to check It out.

The demon hovered waiting for them to throw their first move.

Bring it on was all Phoebe could say.


	10. Rip between two worlds

**Disclaimer: Don't own Charmed no matter how much I want to.**

**Reminder: A demon has just clawed it's way into the building through a rip made between the two worlds. The gang are horrified and stand watching as the demon hovers staring at them.**

**Ok sorry guys for not updating in like 3 weeks, my pc was broken then I couldn't go on for a while, long story short, I'm back and I'm going to try and make this chappie as exciting as I can, so please let me know what you think, thanks xxxx**

**Dirty Blondes**

As the demon hovered below him through the rip more demons began to claw their way through the opening, Darklighters, Harpies, Trok demons, Gremlocks, even Furies to name a few. Phoebe swore there was a couple of Kazi demons coming out as well.

The groups remained still, no one breathed. They were waiting, the demons slowly gathered opposite them.

Phoebe decided to go for it, she wasn't one for patience.

Phoebe propelled herself into the air and threw her self at the demon who had entered their domain. She swung her legs quickly catching the levitating demon in the jaw. She landed behind him. Other demons made a grab for her, she fended them off as best she could but before she knew it she was engulfed in demons grabbing her.

Then the pulls and scratches subsided as the demons began to burst into flames. She turned to see Carla with her hands in a prayer position her eyes shut. Flames surrounded her, she was setting them on fire.

Finally action.

Craig in his wolf form dove into the fray ripping a Harpies throat out as he flew through the air, the harpie screamed as she burst into flames, demons began to surround Craig, the hair on the back of his neck bristled, he growled menacingly, the demons inched towards him. Craig sprung into action at lightening speed.

Chris threw a group of oncoming demons away from him. His arms still ached from the spell earlier cast. He moved some mislaid boxes at them blocking their path. An athame spun across the floor as Carla vanquished another demon with lightening speed. He hurled it at the leader of the group of demons. He burst into flames howling. The others started to sprint towards him he threw them back again knocking several demons approaching Paige out of the way.

Paige orbed behind a Kazi demon kicked him in the back orbing an energy ball being aimed at Chris into his back. A Darklighter arrow hurtled through the air towards her, she orbed behind a fury causing it to take the arrow and vanquishing it.

Phoebe took a deep breath and vaulted herself over a nearby demon and then landing with a snap kick to a demons chest sending about 5 more cascading into a wall.

Paige orbed an athame to her and started to stab several demons in front of her.

Carla's eyes glowed again and the athame began to flame in Paige's hand but she seemed unaffected by the flames licking around her fingers. It didn't stop the next demon she approached to burst into flames with the touch of the blade.

Carla was beginning to scare Phoebe.

Then a demons shot red lights from it's eyes towards Phoebe that caught her in the shoulder and caused her to fell to the floor heavily. She heard a supporting hand catch her before the ground came into contact with her now bleeding shoulder. She looked up and saw Chris. Another demon grabbed him by the shoulder and attempted to pull Chris away, but even though his arm was hurting from the earlier spell mishap he barely winced, he turned to look at the demon and it flew 6 feet into the air.

The demons closed a circle around the Chris knelt beside Phoebe not moving. He squinted his eyes pain radiated through him onto Phoebe, a tear rolled down his cheek, all the demons surrounding them were hurled into the air.

Carla not even glancing at them rose her hand and each one burst into flames. One by one barely touching the floor.

Phoebe sprang to her feet while Chris stumbled to his.

"How did you…?" she spluttered.

"I don't know… the connection between the worlds must be increasing our strength…?"

"How… it's evil?"

Chris shrugged and ducked as a demon swung a knife towards his neck. Phoebe cart wheeled out of the way.

"We have to stop them coming through the hole." She screamed as a demon flew from the glowing pit towards her.

"How?" Paige yelped as a demon swung an scimitar at her and she orbed behind it kicking it towards Carla who burst it into flames instantaneously.

Craig bounded towards a demon diving towards it's neck ripping it's throat out quickly. The demon burst into flames before he skidded to the floor.

He slashed at several other demons barely missing being stabbed in the back by a Gremlock.

"A spell?" Chris suggested racing towards the Carla who blew up an army of demons chasing him.

"We have no power of three." Paige yelped orbing a fireball at a Darklighter.

Phoebe began to feel light-headed she had been astral projecting too long now, she began to feel dizzy, she watched as Chris was thrown across the room by a Darklighter who began to approach him with his crossbow, Phoebe tried to run towards him but her legs were cemented to the floor. She tried to scream for someone to help him, her mouth felt like someone had filled it with glue or something she could barely open it to breath. A demon punched her in the back of the head and she collapsed, she vanished as she rolled over on the floor.

"CHRIS!" Phoebe screamed waking up in the attic of the manor.

Piper raced upstairs to see her sister sat up bolt right her eyes filled with tears.

"What, what about Chris are they ok, God please tell me they are ok, please!" Piper sounded flustered.

"They are in the basement…a rip into the underworld… hordes of demons!" Tears began to spill from Phoebe's eyes.

Piper kicked one of the crystals away and enveloped her sobbing sister in a bear hug.

"What's going on in there?" She asked stroking her sister's matted hair down.

"It's Barbas, he has them trapped." Phoebe spluttered.

"And the demonic council are making him do it." Piper muttered.

Phoebe pulled away, "What?" She choked.

"I had a visit while you were away, he was very helpful." Piper said softly.

"Really?" Phoebe asked still having her arms wrapped around her sister's waist.

"Yup, just straight after I changed my shoes."

"What did he tell you?" Phoebe asked.

Piper quickly filled her in on what she knew.

"We have to get to the underworld and get in there now." Phoebe said scrambling to her feet.

"Explain, how we get into the underworld?" Piper snapped.

"LEO!" Phoebe screamed glaring at her sister.

"You know, he's up there, he's not coming down."

"LEO!" Phoebe yelled louder.

No sparkling orbs to tell them he was arriving.

"Hmph fine! We'll get in another way then!" Phoebe snarled at the ceiling.

"Just because he can't come down, doesn't mean he can't hear you Phoebe!" Piper sighed.

"I want him to hear me his s…" Piper's hand covered her sister's mouth before she could even utter the words, even if he was up there chances were Phoebe had gotten his attention and Piper did NOT want him coming back down and discovering he had a son locked in a demonic fun house. She knew how he would react. It wouldn't be great either.

Phoebe groaned, "Fine we'll do it my way." She flipped through the Book stopping at the page, transporting to the underworld.

Piper glared at her.

"Get the candles," She muttered.

Darryl stared at the building, it was surrounded by bricks and he had… two hours left, then the building was going to blow up. Had the sisters managed to make any improvements yet? He grimaced as another reporter tried to slip through the barrier and the swat team that had now assembled around the area carried her back.

How was he even going to try and explain this?  
Piper had just called telling him they had a plan and that some demon of fear was killing everyone and the only people left were Chris and Paige and two of their magical friends and that Phoebe had just experienced a fight with demons breaking through the two worlds and Darryl had to make her stop when she started to ramble on about a demonic council. This was all giving him a huge headache. This day could not get any worse… wait!

People around him began to shuffle about and disperse, small droplets of rain fell onto Darryl's head, he looked up as another fat raindrop splashed onto his cheek.

This was getting irritating, not only was he missing a bedtime story with DJ and his evening meal with Julia it was raining.

This day had just gone from insanely bad to insanely bad annoying and wet.

He had just rung Piper to tell her the building was being blown up at midnight, she said they were going to get Paige now, they had plenty of time. He hoped she was right, he hoped Paige was out of the building before it was blown up.

And of course his bosses were still breathing down his neck over bringing physics to the scene again, apparently his methods normally ended up with the perpetrator missing. At least the perpetrator was dead and wouldn't be causing anymore harm was Darryl's reason but his replies would normally go along the lines of, I don't choose my cases.

Oh god was that the swat team coming?

Carla was beginning to lose control of her powers again, she could feel the fire beginning to work on it's own. She saw Chris being by a Darklighter but she couldn't bring herself to set the demon on fire, she felt her arm send Craig's wolf form hurtling into a wall, he leapt to his feet and snarled at her baring his teeth threateningly. He was going to help Chris she knew he was, wanted Chris to use his powers and save himself.

She wanted him to show his strength, all she saw was a weakling.

Chris meekly tried to throw the demon away from him, its skidded back 6 feet then continued its march towards Chris.

Paige swung around to see the darklighter approaching her nephew, she quickly orbed an energy ball aimed at Craig into the demons back.

Carla closed her eyes, she felt pathetic.

Barbas' astral form appeared beside her, his cloak drenched in his own blood, Dalia had ripped his ear off, he had been to his healer but the healer could only try and shorten the flow of bleeding. She had ripped his ear off, he wanted her dead. He wanted the entire council to go up in flames. He needed this firestarter to do so.

"_They aren't protecting you are they?"_ He hissed.

Carla's arms dropped to her sides, the force field of fire around her intensified. She was becoming frustrated, Barbas knew when people were frustrated they were easier to mould.

She wasn't going to help them if they weren't going to help her. She saw Chris stumbling over to Paige who helped him as he shakily showed her a stab wound in his shoulder.

WEAKLINGS!

Barbas materialised in front of her, "I can take you to a place where you can use your powers openly, you can destroy all the weakling in your life, take my hand and you will become whole, I can teach you to control your powers so no one will ever hurt you." He held out his blood stained hand.

Carla glared at him unblinkingly.

"Take my hand, we can destroy the building along with all the demons, together." He said softly.

Craig turned and saw a man standing in Carla's force field with her.

He howled as loud as he could. Paige and Chris turned and looked at him as he raced over to the force field.

"Barbas." Chris stammered and ran after the wolf as fast as he could.

Paige wished she could freeze the room like Piper so that Chris would get there safely and they could protect Carla but she couldn't. She did the next best thing.

She orbed over to the force field.

Barbas held his hand out, Carla stared at his hand angrily, her face was contemplating his offer.

"NO!" Chris screamed appearing behind Paige.

Carla turned her head and saw her face filled with sudden malice.

She grabbed the demon's wrist willing and the force field threw them against the metal walls of the basement, all the demons burst into flames as the force field covered the entire room. Chris covered his face with the baggy sleeves as a blast of heat covered the room.

Chris groaned and stared at the hole in the floor waiting for more demons to emerge.

Instead he saw his mother's familiar leather jacket sleeve appear and Piper flew out of the hole, Phoebe levitating beneath her.

"Aw, we missed the party!" Phoebe groaned swinging around examining the remnants of the buildings basement.

"PAIGE!" Piper snapped racing over to her sister.

Paige had unfortunately not had the brains to cover her face as the heat blast had happened. Her face was red raw and blistering.

"CHRIS, Oh,… Oh you're alive!" Phoebe ran over to him wrapped her arms around his head, "Don't you scare me like that again mister!" She pouted.

Piper turned to Craig, Oh my GOD!" She turned away quickly.

"Who that?" She asked the wall.

"Craig, he's a shape shifter." Phoebe explained dropped Chris and walking over to her sister.

"Could someone… get me some clothes?" Craig asked timidly covering his parts with his hands.

Piper turned bright red, "There should be some clothes around here somewhere!"

She saw some mislaid overalls lying draped over a box, she quickly threw them at Craig.

"He's soooo dreamy." Paige sighed.

"Oh my God Paige lost her mind from the blast!" Chris cried shocked.

Paige punched him playfully in the arm.

Craig pulled the overalls on and walked over to the power of three.

"What do you think Carla is doing with a demon," he asked.

Phoebe shrugged.

"She maybe liked the look of him?" She asked unsure.

"Barbas?" Paige choked.

"She might like that kind of guy!" Piper pointed out.

"No… she liked Chris. I could tell, cupid's arrow has hit those two lovebirds." Phoebe grinned at her blushing nephew.

"Shut up about my personal life, we need to get out of here." He muttered.

"We could climb up on the roof and orb down from there?" Paige suggested.

"Or we could go through the underworld?" Piper asked.

"We have to help Carla." Chris snapped.

"See what did I tell you?" Phoebe clapped her hands in triumph.

Chris ignored her.

Piper shook her head, "We need to get out of here!" She snapped.

"But Carla…" Chris stammered.

Piper groaned and turned to look at her son.

"Carla…" He murmured.

"Is right here!" Cara's voice rang around the room.


	11. Carla

**What a delay huh?**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with charmed at all, nothing**

**Reminder: all the demons are dead and the council are getting extremely impatient, Its raining outside, the Charmed Ones are reunited along with Chris Craig and Carla.**

"10pm Darryl!" His associate clucked down the cell phone line, causing him to snap his phone shut in his frustration. They had shortened the time and of course he had no way of telling the sisters, he had tried futiley to call them but whatever they were doing prevented them from answering their phones.

What was taking them so long, they normally had everything done and sorted by at least the end of the day or at some point sooner than how long he had been waiting, all day he had been standing there trying to convince tanks, collaterals, SWAT teams and even his own wife that he wasn't crazy.

He just needed more time.

Of course the psychics (calling the sisters this to let them check things out) had tipped his credibility over the edge and of course by 10pm the building would be a mere pile of rubble.

Sheila had demanded he returned home in case he was hurt and his son was worried about him. There was nothing more he could do.

He knew this.

But he didn't want to believe it, he had to try and do something more. Even though the now lashing rain had caused him more discomfort than he wanted.

This of course had warded off the crowds and any other unwanted attention, sadly the line of human barriers around the building made up of SWAT members and police officers were not leaving.

This annoyed Darryl.

He wasn't leaving either, if the sisters came out… He looked at the bricked up building, they'd need help talking their way out of whatever they had just done.

* * *

_"Everlasting power."_ Barbas's voice rang through Carla's mind. 

Nothing else.

Not even the brief feelings of closeness she had for Chris, all other emotions obliterated. All she wanted was to control her power, and control anything else… Barbas was offering.

Chris couldn't.

_"Just kill the Charmed ones."_ Had been Barbas' simple condition.

Who were they anyway, who did they think they were, she knew she had more power than them and as she gazed on the scene in front of her, confused Paige, vulnerable Craig, dumbstruck Chris and two other women she didn't like.

Or trust.

No problems.

* * *

"Your Highness'!" Barbas boomed materialising before the incensed council. "The Charmed Ones will soon be dead."  
"You lie!" Dalia hissed. 

"Never my dearest Harpy." Barbas grinned his temple twitching, the memory of her ripping his ear from his skull still burned into his skull.

"If you lie, I'll take your head." She snapped flexing her claws. "We lost our warriors because of you don't forget that demon of fear."

It was an empty threat, they'd be dead, he knew they would, and if the charmed ones weren't dead, then he knew the council would fall soon after. With barely anytime to avenge their fallen warriors. The thought made him grin at the scene he would witness when they all finally were killed themselves. At none other than a firestarter's hands.

The Charmed ones wouldn't kill their friend.

Not the white lighter anyway, he wouldn't let them.

"For your sake Barbas, you had better be right." The Head said firmly, to a murmured agreement around the council.

"I am!" He was Barbas' reply.

* * *

"Carla!" Chris croaked. 

"Carla?" Piper snapped.

"Carla…" Phoebe said softly. "She looks so lost…"

"Duck." Carla smiled opening her loose palm which a fireball sprung to life in and danced around her curling fingers.

Chris scrambled forward trying to reach her desperately as the fireball propelled itself towards Piper who flicked her wrists promptly freezing it.

"Paige, little help here!" Piper shouted.

"Fireball!" The fireball shot at Carla and a fiery dome erupted around her causing Chris to be thrown back once again.

"Uh oh…" Piper groaned.

Fireballs began to shoot out of the dome in all directions, zipping at all the people in the room, Chris deflected any coming at him but one gazed his shoulder slightly, he bit back the pain and continued his journey to Carla's fiery dome.

Paige and Piper used their own power to deflect the fireballs and Phoebe levitated to avoid any in her direction. Craig hid behind a crate.

It is soon incinerated.

"Shift!" Paige shouted between calling for fireballs.

Craig squeezed his eyes shut and turns into a rat and scuttled into a crack in the wall.

"What are we going to do?" Piper called flicking her wrists at an incredibly fast rate.

"A spell?" Phoebe suggested.

"Didn't we have one to vanquish the demons…?" Piper asked.

Phoebe cart wheeled out of the way of an onslaught of fireballs, "Just something to douse the flames, something easy."  
"Easy…" Piper muttered.

* * *

"As you can see their attempts are futile." The Gremlock reasoned. 

"They are going to stop her." Dalia hissed. "It's clear."  
"Would the white lighter kill her though?" The Trok demon grunted.

"No!" The Darklighter snorted.

"They'll stop her regardless." Dalia said icily.

The Kazi king sighed, "We are still going to kill Barbas, aren't we?" He said in a confused manner.

"Of course!" The Gremlock snapped.

"We will do what has to be done." The Head said coldly.

The council stared at him unsure.

Barbas watched the Charmed ones battle against the firestarter fruitlessly.

Once again he was winning.

* * *

"Uhhhh… Fiery lady of the cellar…" Piper began. 

"Stop the flames, Paige tell her." Phoebe added with almost a grin on her features as she ducked and rolled out of the way of a particularly well aimed fireball.  
Piper glared at her flicking her wrists frustrated.

"Open your dome and let us see." Paige attempted before orbing out of the way of a fireball aimed at her head.

"Who you are truly and want to be!" Phoebe finished quickly.

Piper snorted as the fireballs quelled and the dome was extinguished.

"What kind of a spell was that!" She chided.

"It worked." Phoebe reasoned as Chris continued to move towards the now defenceless Carla.

* * *

"Darryl Morris get home this INSTANT!" His house wife practically shouted down the phone line. 

"Honey I can't… I'm sorry. I have to see this through." He pleaded down the mouth piece.

"No, I'm not listening to this again! Get home now! Darryl, people have died there, it's not safe, I want my son to see his father, I want my son to stop crying. He thinks you're going to get hurt." Darryl exhaled slowly, "I think you're going to get hurt Darryl." His wife's voice moaned.

"I'll be home… soon." He snapped his phone shut.

As soon as this was over…

He knew it was selfish.

But he had to see this through to the end.

* * *

"Carla!" Chris raised towards her as the dome melted away. 

"Don't make me kill you." She snarled.

"Carla, let me help." He pleaded.  
_"He doesn't want to help, he wants to stop you." _Barbas' voice rang through her mind.

"No…" She cried her hands beginning to flicker with flames.

"_He'll be the one who kills you." _Barbas hissed.

Carla thrust her now flame engulfed hand at Chris's throat.  
"I won't let you kill me Chris."  
"I'm… n-n-ot ….-g-going to" He choked.

"Chris!" Piper shrieked.

"Carla let go of him!" Phoebe yelled.

"Craig!" Paige called, he looked at her quizzically hiding behind a large crate. "You turned into a werewolf… right?"  
"Don't remind me."  
"Turn into something else… mythical!" Paige said excitedly.

"What?"

Piper growled angrily, "Why won't she freeze!" She screeched fuming with rage.

"Piper calm down, we'll think of something." Phoebe said watching Craig twist and writhe behind them.

"Before or after she kills him?" Piper snapped venomously.

"Before." Came Paige in reply full of relief.

A tall scaled grey Dragon stomped towards where Carla stood.

"What the…"

* * *

"…hell is that?" Dalia screeched. 

"The Charmed ones resourcefulness." The Trok demon hissed.

"Damnit…" The Gremlock snarled.

"So what? They have a dragon, what's that going to do?" The Kazi King asked.

Craig's dragon form sliced his knife like claws towards Carla who promptly dropped Chris.

Chris rolled across the floor clutching his neck Piper raced towards him and Craig plunged his claw into Carla's stomach.

* * *

Barbas looked at them and sighed. 

"Fantastic!" He muttered and materialised in taking her in his arms as she fell to the floor. The dragon didn't have a chance to claw him before he quickly shifted away again.


End file.
